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THE CULTIVATION OF 



THE NATIVE GRAPE, 



AND 



MANUFACTURE OF AMERICAN WINES. 



BY 



GJ^KORGrE JJlTJSJyLA.'NN, 



OF HERMANN, M1S80UKI. 



NEW YORK: 
GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD, 37 PARK ROW, 

Office of the HorticuUurist, 

1866. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by 

GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD, 
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, 
for the Southern District of New York. 



PRINTER, 

^*'- eo Fulton Sttee^* 



TO THE 



GRAPE GROWERS OF 



*'0UR COUNTRY, ONE AND INDIVISIBLE,' 



THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED 



BY THEIR 



FRIEND AND FELLOW- LABORER, 

THE AUTHOR. 



SP!^' 



iisriD e::^^. 



PAGE. 

Introduction 9 

grape culture. 

Remarks on its History in America, especially at the West ; 

its Progress and its Future, 13 

PROPAGATION OF THE VINE. 

I. — From Seed 27 

II.— By Single Eyes 30 

The Propagating House 31 

Mode of Operating 32 

III. — By Cuttings in Open Air 37 

IV. — By Layering 39 

V.~By Grafting 40 

THE VINEYARD. 

Location and Soil 43 

Preparing the Soil 45 

WHAT SHALL WE PLANT? 

Choice of Varieties 47 

The Concord 48 

Norton's Virginia 48 

Herbemont 49 

Delaware 49 

Hartford Prolific 49 

Clinton. . .' -^- ^0 



Vi INDEX. 

PLANTING. 

PAGE. 

Planting 51 

Treatment of the Vine the First Summer 56 

Treatment of the Vine the Second Summer 57 

Treatment of the Vine the Third Summer 03 

Treatment of the Vine the Fourth Summer 69 

Training the Vines on Arbors and Walls 71 

Other Methods of Training the Vine 75 

Diseases of the Vine 78 

Insects Injurious to the Grape 80 

Birds 84 

Frosts 85 

Girdling the Vine to Hasten Maturity 86 

Manuring the Vine 91 

Thinning of the Fruit 91 

Renewing Old Vines 92 

Pruning Saws 93 

Preserving the Fruit 95 

Gathering the Fruit to Make Wine 96 

VARIETIES OF GRAPES. CLASS I. VARIETIES MOST GENERALLY 

USED. 

Concord (Description) 97 

Cnncord ( Plate) Ill 

Norton's Virginia (Description ) 98 

Norton's Virp;inia (Plate) 87 

Herbemont ( Plate) 99 

Herbemont ( Description) 101 

Hartford Prolific (Description) i 101 

Hartford Prolific (Plate) 105 

Clinton 102 

Delaware ( Description) 102 

Delaware (Plate) 81 

CLASS II. HEALTHY VARIETIES PROMISING WELL. 

Cynthiana 103 

Arkansas 104 

Taylor 104 

Martha 107 

Maxatawney (Description) 107 

Maxatawney (Plate) 177 

Rogers' Hybrid, No. 1 107 

Cre.veling (Description) .- » 108 

Creveliug (Plate) 117 



INDEX. VU 

PAGE. 

North Carolina Seedling .....«.« 108 

Cunningham 109 

Rulander 109 

Louisiana 110 

Alvey 110 

Cassady 110 

Blood's Black 113 

Union Vilhige (Description) 113 

Un^on Village (Plate) 1G7 

Perkins 113 

Clara (Description) , 114 

Clara ( Plate) 127 

Ive's Seedling , ,,..,.,,,.,.. 114 

CLASS III. — HEALTHY VARIETIES BUT INFERIOR IN QUALITY. 

Minor Seedling 116 

Mary Ann 119 

Northern Muscadine 119 

Logan 119 

Brown 119 

JHyde^s Eliza 119 

Marion Port ".. . 120 

Poeschel's Mammoth 120 

Cape 120 

Dracut Amber 120 

Elsinburgh 120 

Garber's Albino 121 

Franklin 121 

Lenoir 121 

North America 121 

CLASS IV VARIETIES OF GOOD QUALITY, BUT SUBJECT TO DISEASE. 

Catawba 121 

Diana 122 

Isabella 1 22 

Garriguos 123 

Tokalon 1 23 

Anna , 123 

Allen's Hybrid 123 

Cuyahoga 123 

Devereux 124 

Kingsessing 124 

Rogers' Hybrid, No. 15 . ; 124 



Vm . INDEX. 

CLASS V. — VARIETIES UNWORTHY OF CULTIVATION. 

PAGE. 

Oporto 124 

Massachusetts White 125 

WINE MAKING. 

Gathering the Grapes 131 

The Wine Cellar 133 

Apparatus for Wine Making. — The Grape Mill and Press.. . 136 

Fermenting Vats 137 

The Wine Casks 138 

Making the Wine 140 

After Treatment of the Wine 140 

Diseases of the Wine and their Remedies 147 

Treatment of flat and Turbid Wine 147 

Use of the Husks and Lees 148 

Dr. Gall's and Petoil's Method of Wine Making 148 

The Must Scale or Saccharometcr 150 

The Acidimeter and Its Use 151 

The Change of the Must, by Fermentation, into Wine 157 

Normal Must ICl 

The Must of American Grapes 162 

Wine Making Made Easy 173 

STATISTICS. 

Cost of Establishing A Vineyard 179 

Cost of an acre of Concord 179 

Cost of an acre of Herbemont 179 

Cost of an acre of Norton's Virginia 180 

Cost of an acre of Delaware 180 

Cost of an acre of Catawba 180 

Product 181 

Produce Fifth Year ' 182 

Yield of Mr. Michael Poeschel's Vineyard 184 

New Vineyard of Mr. M. Poeschel, Planted in 1861 ; 

First Partial Crop, 1863 ; Second Crop, 1864 ; Third 

Crop, 1865, 184, 185 

Yield of Vineyard of Mr. William Poeschel, 1857, 1858, 

1859, 1860 ■. . 185 

Yield of Vineyard of Mr. William Poeschel, 1861, 1862, 

1863, 1864 186 

Yield of Vinpyard of Mr. William Poeschel 1805 ... 187 
Yield of Delaware Vineyard of John E. Mottier . . c 189 



INTRODUCTION. 



It is with a great deal of hesitation I undertake to 
write a book about Grapes, a subject which has been, 
and still is, elucidated every day ; and about which we 
have already several works, which no doubt are more 
learned, more elaborate, than anything I may produce. 
But the subject is of such vast importance, and the area 
suitable for grape culture so large, the diversity of soil and 
.climate so great, that I may be pardoned if I still think 
that I could be of some use to the beginner; it is 
for them, and not for my brethren of the craft more 
learned than I am, that I write. If they can learn any- 
thing from the plain talk of a practical worker, to help 
them along in the good work, I am well repaid. 

Another object I have in view is to make grape grow- 
ing as easy as possible ; and I may be pardoned if I say 
that, in my opinion, it is a defect in all books we have 
on grape culture, that the manner of preparing the soil, 
training, etc., are on too costly a plan to be followed by 
men of little means. If we are first to trench and 
prepare the soil, at a cost of about $300 per acre, and 
then pay |200 more for trellis, labor, etc., the poor man, 
he who must work for a living, can not afford to raise 
grapes. And yet it is from the ranks of these sturdy 
sons of toil that I would gain my recruits for that peace- 
ful army whose sword is the pruning-hook ; it is from 



10 introduction; 

their honest, hard-working hands I expect the grandest 
results. He who has ah-eady wealth enough at command 
can of course afford to raise grapes with bone-dust, 
ashes, and all the fertilizers. He can walk around and 
give his orders, making grape culture an elegant j^astime 
for his leisure hours, as well as a source of profit. But, 
being one of the first class myself, I had to fight my Avay 
up through untold difficulties from the lowest round of the 
ladder ; had to gain what knowledge I possess from dear 
experience, and can therefore sympathize with those who 
must commence without means. It is my earnest desire 
to save them some of the losses which /had to suffer, to 
lighten their toil by a little plain adviee. If I can succeed 
in this, my object is accomjDlished. 

In nearly all our books on grape culture I notice an- 
other defect, especially in those published in the East ; it 
is, that they contain a great deal of good advice about 
grape culture, but very little about wine-making, and the 
treatment of wine in the cellar. For us here at the 
West this is an all-important point, and even our Eastern 
friends, if they continue to plant grapes at the rate they 
have done for the last few years, will soon glut the 
market, and will be forced to make them into wine. I 
shall therefore try to give such simple instructions about 
wine-making and its management as will enable every one 
to make a good saleable and drinkable wine, better than 
nine-tenths of the foreign wines, which are now sold at 
two to three dollars per bottle. I firmly believe that this 
continent is destined to be the greatest wine-producing 
country in the world; and that the time is not far dis- 
tant when wine, the most wholesome and purest of all 
stimulating drinks, will be within the reach of the com- 
mon laborer, and take the place of the noxious and poi- 
sonous liquors which are now the curse of so many of 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

our laboring men, and have blighted the happiness of so 
many homes. Pure liglit wine I consider the best temper- 
ance agent ; but as long as bad whisky and brandy con- 
tinue to be the common drink of its citizens we can not 
hope to accomplish a thorough reform ; for human nature 
seems to crave and need a stimulant. Let us then try 
to supply the most innocent and healthy one, the exhilara- 
ting juice of the grape. 

I have also endeavored throughout to give plain facts, 
to substantiate with plain figures all I assert; and in no 
case have I allowed fancy to roam in idle speculations 
which cannot be demonstrated in practice. I do not pre- 
tend that my effort is " the most comprehensive and prac- 
tical essay on the grape," as some of our friends call their 
productions, but I can claim for it strict adherence to 
truth and actual results. 

- I have not thought it necessary to give the botanical 
description of the grape-vine, and the process of hybridiz- 
ing, etc.; this has already been so well and thoroughly 
done by my friend Fuller, that I can do no better than 
refer the scientific reader to his book. I am writinsj more 
for the practical farmer, and would rather fill what I think 
a vacancy, than repeat what has been so well said by 
others. 

With these few remarks, which I thought due to the 
public and myself, I leave it to you, brother- winegrowers, 
to say whether or not I have accomplished my task. To 
all and every one who plants a single vine I would extend the 
hand of good fellowship, for he is a laborer in the great 
work to cover this glorious land of the free with smiling 
vineyards, and to make its barren spots flow with noble 
grape juice, one of the best gifts of an all-bountiful Creator. 
All hail to you, I greet you from Free Missouri. 

Hermann, Missouri, January, 1866. 



GRAPE CULTURE. 



UEMARKS ON ITS HISTORY IN AMERICA, ESPECIALLY AT THE 
WEST ITS PROGRESS AND ITS FUTURE. 

In an old chronicle, entitled, " The Discovery of 
America in the Tenth Century," by Charles C. Prasta, 
published at Stralsund, we find the following legend : 
" Leif, son of Eric the Red, bought Byarnes' vessel, and 
manned it with thirty-five men, among w^hom was also a 
German, Tyrker by name, wh6 had lived a long time with 
Leif's father, who had become very much attached to 
him in youth. And they left port at Iceland, in the year 
ofour Lord 1000. 

But, when they had been at sea several. days, a tremen- 
dous storm arose, whose wild fury made the waves swell 
mountain high, and threatened to destroy the frail vessel. 
And the storm continued for several days, and increased 
in fury, so that even the stoutest heart quaked with fear ; 
they believed that their hour had come, and drifted along 
at the mercy of wind and waves. Only Leif, who had 
lately been converted to Christ our Lord, stood calmly at 
the helm and did not fear ; but called on Him who had 
walked the water and quieted the billows, with firm faith, 
that He also had power to deliver them, if they but 
trusted in Him. And, behold ! while he still spoke to 
them of the wonderful deeds of the Lord, the clouds 
cleared away, the storm lulled ; and after a few hours the 
sea calmed down, and rocked the tired and exhausted 



14 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

men into a deep and calm sleep. And when they awoke, 
the next morning, they could hardly trust their eyes. A 
beautiful country lay before them, green hills, covered 
with beautiful forests ; a majestic stream rolled its billows 
into the ocean ; and they cast the anchor, and thanked 
the Lord, who had delivered them from death. 

A delightful country it seemed, full of game, and birds 
of beautiful plumage ; and when they went ashore, they 
could not resist the temptation to explore it. When 
they returned, after several hours, Tyrker alone was 
missing. After waiting some time for his return, Leif, 
with twelve of his men, went in search of him. But they 
had not gone far, when they met him, laden down with 
grapes. Upon their enquiry, where he had stayed so 
long, he answered: "I did not go far, when I found the 
trees all covered with grtpes ; and as I was born in a 
country, whose hills are covered with vineyards, it seemed 
so much like home to me, that I stayed a while and 
gathered them." They had now a twofold occupation, to 
cut timber, and gather grapes; with the latter, they 
loaded the boat. And Leif gave a name to the country, 
and called it Vinland, or Wineland." 

So far the tradition. It is said that coming events cast 
their shadows before them. If this is so, may we not re- 
cognize one of those shadows in the old Norman legiend 
of events which transpired more than eight hundred 
ye'ars ago ? Is it not the foreshadowing of the destiny of 
this great continent, to become, in truth and verity, a 
Wineland. Truly, the results of to-day would certainly 
justify us in the assertion, that there is as much, nay 
more, truth than fiction in it. Let us take a glance at 
the first commencement of grape culture, and see what 
has been the progress in this comparatively new branch 
of horticulture. 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE, 15 

From the very first settlement of America, the vine 
seems to have attracted the attention of tlie colonists, 
and it is said that as early as 1564, wine was made from 
the native grape in Florida. The earliest attempt to 
establish a vineyard in the British North American Colo- 
nies was by the London Company in Virginia, about the 
year 1620 ; and by 1630, the prospect seems to have been 
encouraging enough to warrant the importation. of several 
French vine-dressers, who, it is said, ruined the vines by 
bad treatment. Wine was also made in Virginia in 1647, 
and in 1651 premiums were offered for its production. 
Beverly even mentions, that prior to 172'2, there were 
vineyards in that colony, producing seven hundred and 
fifty gallons per year. In 1664, Colonel Ricuard Nicoll, 
Governor of New York, granted to Paul Kichards, a 
privilege of making and selling wine free of all duty, he 
having been the first to enter upon the cultivation of the 
vine on a large scale. Beauchamp Plantagenet, in his 
description of the province of New Albion, published 
in London, in 1648, states *' that the English settlers in 
Uvedale, now Delaware, had vines running on mulberry 
and sassafras trees ; and enumerates four kinds^of grapes, 
namely: Thoulouse Muscat, Sweet Scented, Great Fox, 
and Thick Grape ; the first two, after five months, being 
boiled and salted and well fined, make a strong red Xeres , 
the third, a light claret ; the fourth, a white grape which 
creeps on the land, makes a pure, gold colored wine. 
Tennis Pale, a Frenchman, out of these four, made eight 
sorts of excellent wine ; and says of the Muscat, after it 
had been long boiled, that the second draught will intoxi- 
cate after four months old ; and that here may be gathered 
and made two hundred tuns in the vintage months, and that 
the vines with good cultivation will mend." In 1633, Wil- 
liam Penn attempted to establish a vineyard near Philadel- 
phia, but without success. After some years, however, Mr, 



16 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

Tasker, of Maryland, and Mr. Antil, of Shrewsbury, N". 
J., seem to have succeeded to a certain extent. It seems, 
however, from an article which Mr. Antil wrote of the 
culture of the grape, and the manufacture of Avine, that 
he cultivated only foreign A^arieties. 

In 1796, the French settlers in Illinois made one hun- 
dred and ten hogsheads of strong wine from native 
grapes. At Harmony, near Pittsburgh, a vineyard of ten 
acres was planted by Frederic Rapp, and his associates 
from Germany ; and they continued to cultivate grapes 
and silk, after their removaf to another Harmony in 
Indiana. 

In 1790, a Swiss colony was founded, and a fund often 
thousand dollars raised in Jessamine county, Kentucky, 
for the purpose of establishing a vineyard, but failed, as 
they attempted to plant the foreign vine. In 1801, they 
removed to a spot, which they called Yevay, in Switzer- 
land County, Indiana, on the Ohio, forty-five miles below 
Cincinnati. Here they planted native vines, especially the 
Cape, or Schuylkill Muscadel, and met with better suc- 
cess. But, after about forty years' experience, they seem 
to have become discouraged, and their vineyards have 
now almost disappeared. 

These were the first crude experiments in American 
grape culture ; and from some cause or another, they 
seem not to have been encom-aging enough to Avarrant 
their continuation. But a ncAV impetus was giA^en to this 
branch of industry, by the introduction of the CataAA^ba, 
by Major Adlum, of Georgetown, D. C, Avho thought, 
that by so doing, he conferred a greater benefit upon the 
nation than he Avould haA^e done, had he paid the national 
debt. It seems to have been planted first on an extensiA^e 
scale by Nicholas Longavortii, near Cincinnati, Avhom Ave 
may justly call one of the founders of American grape 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 17 

culture. He adopted the system of leasing parcels of 
unimproved land to poor Germans, to plant with vines ; 
lor a share, I believe, of one-half of the proceeds. It was 
his ambition to make the Ohio the Rhine of America, and 
he has certainly done a good deal to eifect it. In 1858, 
the whole number of acres planted in grapes around Cin- 
cinnati, was estimated, by a committee appointed for that 
purpose, at twelve hundred acres, of which Mr. Long- 
worth owned one hundred and twenty-two and a half 
acres, under charge of twenty-seven tenants. The annual 
produce was estimated by the committee at no less than 
two hundred and forty thousand gallons, worth about as 
many dollars then. We may safely estimate the number of 
acres in cultivation there now, at two thousand. Among 
the principal grape growers there, I will mention Messrs. 
Robert Buchanan, author of an excellent work on grape 
culture, MoTTiER, Bogen, Werk, Rehfuss, Dr. Mosher, 
etc. 

Well do I remember, when I was a boy, some fourteen 
years old, how often my father would enter into con- 
versation with vintners from the old country, about the 
feasibility of grape culture in Missouri. He always con- 
tended that grapes should succeed well here, as the 
Avoods were full of wild grapes, some of very fair quality, 
and that this would indicate a soil and climate favorable 
to the vine. They would ridicule the idea, and assert 
that labor was too high here, even if the vines would suc- 
ceed, to make it pay ; but they could not shake his faith 
in the ultimate success of grape culture. Alas ! he lived 
only long enough to see the first dawnings of that glo- 
rious future which he had so often anticipated, and none 
entered with more genuine zeal upon the occupation than 
he, when an untimely death took him from the labor he 
loved so well, and did not even allow him to taste the 



18 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

first fruits of the vines lie had planted and fostered. Had 
he been spared until now, his most sanguine hopes would 
be verified. 

I also well remember the first cultivated grape vine 
which produced fruit in Hermann. It was an Isabella, 
planted by a Mr. Fugger, on the corner of Main and Schiller 
streets, and trained over an arbor. It produced the first 
crop in 1845, twenty years ago, and so plentifully did it 
bear, that several persons were encouraged by this appa- 
rent success, to plant vines. In 1846, the first wine was 
made here, and agreeably surj)rised all who tried it, by 
its good quality. The Catavrba had during that time, 
been imported from Cincinnati, and the first partial crop 
from it, in 1848, was so plentiful, that every body, almost, 
commenced planting vines, and often in very unfavorable 
localities. This, of com-se, had a bad influence on so 
capricious a variety as the Catawba; rot and mildew 
appeared, and many became discouraged, because they 
did not realize what they had anticipated. A number of 
unfavorable seasons brought grape growing almost to a 
stand still here. Some .of our most enterprising grape 
growers still persevered, and succeeded by careful treat- 
ment, in making even the Catawba pay very handsome 
returns. 

It was about this time, that the attention of some of 
our grape-growers was drawn towards a small, insignifi- 
cant looking grape, which had been obtained by a Mr. 
WiEDERSPRECKER from Mr. Heinrichs, who had brought it 
from Cincinnati, and, almost at the same time, by Dr. 
Keiir, who had brought it with him from Virginia. The 
vine seemed a rough customer, and its fruit very insignifi- 
cant when compared with the large bunch and berry of 
the Catawba, but we soon observed that it kept its 
foliage bright and green when tliat of the Catawba be- 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 19 

came sickly and dropped ; and also, that no rot or mildew 
damaged the fruit, when that of the Catawba was nearly 
destroyed by it. A few tried to proj^agate it by 
cuttings, but generally failed to make it grow. They then 
resorted to grafting and layering, with much better suc- 
cess. After a few years a few bottles of wine were made 
from it, and found to be very good. But at this time it 
almost received its death-blow, by a very unfavorable 
letter from Mr. Longworth, who had been asked his opin- 
ion of it, and pronounced it worthless. Of course, with 
the majority, the fiat of Mr. Longworth, the father of 
American grape-culture, was conclusive evidence, and 
they abandoned it. Not all, however ; a few persevered, 
among them Messrs. Jacob Rommel, Poeschel, Langen- 
DOERFER, Grein, and myself. We thought Mr. Longworth 
was human, and might be mistaken ; and trusted as much 
to' the evidence of our senses as to his verdict, therefore 
increased it as fast as we could, and the sequel proved 
that we were right. After a few years more wine was 
made from it in larger quantities, found to be much better 
than the first imperfect samples ; and now that despised 
and condemned grape is the great variety for red wine, 
equal, if not superior to, the best Burgundy and Port; a 
wine of which good judges, heavy importers of the best 
European wines too, will tell you that it has not its equal 
among all the foreign red wines ; which has already 
saved the lives of thousands of suffering children, men, 
and women, and therefore one of the greatest blessings 
an all-merciful God has ever bestowed upon suffering hu- 
manity. This despised grape is now the rag^, and 
600,000 of the plants could have been sold from this 
place alone the last fall, if they could have been obtained. 
Need I name it ? it is the Norton's Virginia. Truly, 
''great oaks froan little acorns grow !" and I boldly prophecy 



20 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

to-day that the time is not far distant when thousands 
upon thousands of our hillsides will be covered with its 
luxuriant foliage, and its purple juice become one of the 
exports to Europe ; provided, always, that we do not 
grow so fond of it as to drink it all. I think that this is 
pre-eminently a Missouri grape. Here it seems to have 
found the soil in which it flourishes best. I have seen it 
in Ohio, but it does not look there as if it was the same 
grape. And why should it ? They drove it from them 
and discarded it in its youth ; we fostered it, and do you 
not think, dear reader, there sometimes is gratitude in 
plants as well as in men ? Other States may plant it and 
succeed with it, too, to a certain extent, but it will cling 
with the truest devotion to those localities where it Avas 
cared for in its youth. Have we not also found, during 
the late war, that the Germans, the adopted citizens of 
this great country, clung with a heartier devotion to our 
noble flag, and shed their blood more freely for it, than 
thousands upon thousands of native-born Americans ? 
And why ? Because here they found protection, equal 
rio'hts for all, and that freedom which had been the idol 
of their hearts, and haunted their dreams by night ; be- 
cause they had been oppressed so long they more fully 
appreciated the blessings of a free government than those 
who had enjoyed it from their birth. But you may call 
me fantastical for comparing plants to human beings, and 
will say, plants have no apj)reciation of such things. 
Brother Skeptic, have you, or has any body, divined 
all the secrets of Nature's workshop ? Truly we may 
say that we have not, and we meet with facts every day 
which are stranger than fiction. 

The Concord had as small a beginning with us. In the 
winter of 1855 a few eyes of its wood were sent me by 
Mr. Jas. G. Soulard, of Galena, 111. I grafted them upon old 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



21 



Catawba vines, and one of them grew. The next year I 
distributed some of the scions to om* vine-growers, who 
grafted them also. When my vine commenced to bear I 
was astonished, after what I had heard of the poor 
quality of the fruit from the East, to ^nd it so fine, and 
so luxurious and healthy ; and we propagated it as fast as 
possible. Now, scarcely nine years from the time when 
I received the first scions, hundreds of acres are being 
planted with it here, and one-third of an acre of it, 
planted five years ago, has produced for me, in fruit, 
wine, layers, cuttings, and plants, the round sum of ten 
thousand dollars during that time. Its wine, if pressed as 
soon as the grapes are mashed, is eminently one of those 
which " maketh glad the heart of man," and is evidently 
destined to become one of the common drinks of our 
laboring classes. It is light, agreeable to the palate, has 
a, very enlivening and invigorating efiect, and can be 
grown as cheap as good cider. I am satisfied that an 
acre will, with good cultivation, produce from 1,000 to 
1,500 gallons per year. My vines produced this season 
at the rate of 2,500 gallons to the acre, but this may be 
called an extra -large crop. I have cited the his- 
tory of these two varieties in our neighborhood merely as 
examples of progress. It would lead too far here, to 
follow the history of all our leading varieties, though 
many a goodly story might be told of them. Our friends 
in the East claim as much for the Delaware and others, 
with which we have not been able to succeed. And here 
let me say that the sooner we divest ourselves of the idea 
that one grape should be the grape for this immense 
country of ours ; the sooner we try to adapt the variety 
to the locality — not the locality to the variety — the 
sooner we will succeed. The idea is absurd, and un- 
worthy of a thinking people, that one variety should sue- 



22 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

ceed equally well or ill in such a diversity of soil and cli- 
mate as we have in this broad land of ours. It is in 
direct conflict with the laws of vegetable physiology, as 
well as with common sense and experience. In planting 
our vineyards we should first go to one already estab- 
lished, which we think has the same soil and location, or 
nearly so, as the one we are going to plant. Of those 
varieties which succeed there we should plant the largest 
number, and plant a limited number also of all those 
varieties which come recommended by good authority. 
A few seasons will show which variety suits our soil, and 
what we ought to plant in preference to all others. Thus 
the Herbemont, the Cynthiana, Delaware, Taylor, Cun- 
ningham, Rulander, Martha, and even the lona, may all 
find their proper location, where each will richly reward 
their cultivator ; and certainly they are all too good not 
to be tried. 

Now, let us see what progress the country at large has 
made in grape-growing during, say, the last ten years. 
Then^ I think I may safely assert, that the vineyards 
throughout the whole country did not comprise more 
than three to four thousand acres. JS'ow I think I may 
safely call them over two millions of acres. Tlien, our 
whole list embraced about ten varieties, all told, of which 
only the Catawba and Isabella were considered worthy 
of general cultivation ; now we count our native varieties 
by the hundreds, and the Catawba and Isabella will soon 
number among the things which have been. Public taste 
has become educated, and they are laid aside in disgust, 
Avhen such varietiec as the Herbemont, Delaware, Clara, 
Allen's Hybrid, lona, Adirondac, and others can be had. 
Then, grape-growing was confined to only a few small 
settlements ; now there is not a State in the Union, from 
Maine to California, but has its vineyards ; and especially 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 23 

our Western States have entered upon a race which shall 
excel the other in the good work. Our brethren in Illi- 
nois bid fair to outdo us, and vineyards spring up as if by- 
magic, even on the prairies. Nay, grape-culture bids fair 
to extend into Minnesota, a country which was considered 
too cedd for almost anything except oats, pines, wolves, 
bears, and specimens of daring humanity encased in 
triple wool. We begin to find out that we have varieties 
which will stand almost anything if they are only some- 
what protected in winter. It was formerly believed that 
only certain favored locations and soils in each State 
would produce good grapes — for instance, sunny hillsides 
along large streams ; now we begin to see that we can 
grow some varieties of grape on almost any soil. One of 
the most flourishing vineyards I have ever seen is on one 
of the islands in the Missouri river, where all the varieties 
planted there — some six or seven — seemed perfectly at 
home in the rich, sandy mould, where it needs no trench- 
ing to loosen the soil. Then^ grape-growing, with the 
varieties then in cultivation, was a j^roblem to be solved ; 
now, with the varieties we have proved, it is a certainty 
that it is one of the most profitable branches of horticul- 
ture, paying thousands of dollars to the acre every year. 
Then, wine went begging at a dollar a gallon ; mm it sells 
as fast as made at from two dollars to six dollars a gallon. 
Instead of the only wine then considered fit to drink, we 
number our wine-producing varieties by the dozen, all 
better than the Catawba ; among the most prominent of 
which I will name — of varieties producing white wine, the 
Herbemont, Delaware, Cassidy, Taylor, Rulander, Cun- 
ningham, and Louisiana; of light-red wines, the Concord; 
of dark-red wines, the Norton's Virginia, Cynthiana, 
Arkansas and Clinton ; so that every palate can be suited. 
And California bids fair to outdo us all; for there, I am told, 



24 CULTURE OF THE GRAl*!!. 

several kinds of wine are made from the same grape, in 
the same vineyard, and in fabulous quantities. To cite an 
example of the increase in planting: in 1854 the whole 
number of vines grown and sold in Hermann did not ex- 
ceed two thousand. This season two millions of jolants 
have been grown and sold, and not half enough to meet the 
demand. It is said that the tone of the press is a fair indica- 
tion of public sentiment. If this is true what does it prove ? 
Take one of our horticultural periodicals, and nine-tenths 
of the advertisements will be " Grape-vines for sale," in any 
quantity and at any price, from five dollars to one hun- 
dred dollars per 100, raised North, East, South, and West. 
Tm-n to the reading matter, and you can hardly turn over 
a leaf but the subject of grapes stares you in the face, 
with a quiet impunity, which plainly says, " The nation is 
affected with grape fever; and while our readers have 
grape on the brain there is no fear of overdosing." Why, 
the best proof I can give my readers that grape fever 
does exist to an alarming degree, is this very book itself. 
Were not I and they affected with the disease, I should 
never have presumed to try their patience. 

But, fortunately, the remedy is within easy reach. 
Plant grapes, every one of you who is thus afflicted, until 
our hillsides are covered with them, and we have made 
our barren spots blossom as the rose. 

Truly, the results we have already obtained, are cheering 
enough. And yet all this has been principally achieved 
in the last few years, while the nation was involved in 
one of the most stupendous struggles the world ever saw, 
while its very existence was endangered, and thousands 
upon thousands of her patriotic sons poured out their 
blood like water, and the husbandman left his home ; the 
vintner his vineyard, to fight the battles of his country. 
What then shall we become now, when peace has smiled 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 25 

once more upon our beloved country ; and the thousands 
of brave arms, who brandished the sword, sabre, or mus- 
ket, have come home once more ; and then- weapons have 
been turned into ploughshares, and their swords into prun- 
ing hooks ? When all the strong and willing hands Avill 
clear our hillsides, and God's sim shines upon one great 
and united people ; greater and more glorious than ever; 
because now they are tndy free. Truly the future lies 
before us, rich in glorious promise; and ere long the 
words and the prophecy contained in the old legend will 
become sober truth, and America will be, from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific one smiling and happy Wineland ; 
where each laborer shall sit under his own vine, and none 
will be too poor to enjoy the purest and most wholesome 
of all stimulants, good, cheap, native wi7ie. Then drunken- 
ness, now the curse of the nation, will disappear, and 
peace and good will towards all will rule our actions. 
And we, brother grape growers ? Ours is this great and 
glorious task ; let us work unceasingly, with hand, heart, 
and mind ; truly the object is worthy of our best endeav- 
ors. Let those who begin to-day, remember how easy 
their task with the achievements and experiments of 
others before them, compared with the labors of those 
who were the pioneers in the cultivation of the vine. 



PE,OPAGATIO:Nr OF THE VINE. 

I. FROM SEED. 

This would seem to be the most natm'al mode, were 
not the grape even more liable to sport than almost 
any other fruit. It is, however, the only method upon 
which we can depend for obtaining new and more valua- 
ble varieties than we already possess, and to which we 
are already indebted for all the progress made in varie- 
ties, a progress which is, indeed, very encouraging ; for 
who would deny that we are to-day immeasurably in 
advance of what we were ten years ago. Among the 
innumerable varieties which spring up every day, and 
which find ready purchasers, just because they are new, 
there are certainly some of decided merit. But those 
who grow seedlings, should bear in mind, that the list of 
of our varieties is already too large ; that it would be 
better if three-fourths of them were stricken off, and that 
no new variety should be brought before the public, 
unless it has some decided superiority over any of the 
varieties we already have, in quality, productiveness and 
exemption from disease. It is poor encouragement to 
the grape growing public, to pay from two to five dollars 
a vine for a new variety, with some high-sounding name, 
if, after several years of superior cultivation and faithful 

27 



28 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

trial, they find their costly pet inferior to some variety 
they already possessed, and of which the plants could be 
obtained at a cost of from ten to fifty cents each. 

The grapes from Avhich the seed is to be used, should 
be fully ripe, and none but well developed, large berries, 
should be taken. Keep these during the Avinter, either 
in the pulp, or in cool, moist sand, so that their vitality 
may remain unimpaired. The soil upon which your 
seed-bed is made, should be light, deep and rich, and 
if it is not so naturally, should be made so with well 
decom^Dosed leaf-mould. As soon as the weather in 
spring will permit, dig up the soil to the depth of at least 
eighteen inches, pulverising it well ; then sow the seed in 
drills, about a foot apart, and about one inch apart in the 
rows, covering them about three-quarters of an inch deep. 
It will often be found necessary to shade the young plants 
when they come up, to prevent the sun frem scalding 
them, but this should not be continued too long, as the 
plants will become too tender, if protected too long. 
When the young plants have grown about six inches, they 
may be supplied with small sticks, to which they will 
cling readily ; the ground should be kept clean and mel- 
low, and a light mulch should be applied, which will keep 
the soil loose and moist. The young plants should be 
closely Avatched, and if any of them show signs of disease, 
they should at once be pulled up ; also those which show 
a very feeble and delicate growth ; for we should only try 
to grow varieties with good, healthy constitutions. In 
the Fall, the young plants should be either taken up, and 
carefully heeled in, or they should be protected by earth, 
straw, or litter thrown over them. In the Spring, they 
may be transplanted to their permanent locations; the 
tops shortened in to six inches, and the roots shortened 
in to about six inches from the stem. The soil for their 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 29 

reception should be moderately light and rich, and loose- 
ened up to the depth of at least eighteen inches. 

Make a hole about eight inches deep, then throw in 
soil so as to raise a small mound in the centre of the hole,, 
about two inches high ; on this place the young vine, and 
carefully spread the roots in all directions ; then fill up 
with well pulverized soil, so that the upper eye or bud is 
even with the surface of the ground ; then press the soil i 
down lightly ; place a good stake, of about four feet high, 
with the plant, and allow but one shoot to grow, which 
.should be neatly tied to the stake as it grows. The vines 
may be planted in rows six feet apart, and three feet apart 
in the rows, as many of them will prove worthless, and 
have to be taken out. Allow all the laterals to grow on 
the young cane, as this will make it short-jointed and 
stocky. Cultivate the ground well, stirring it freely with 
plough, cultivator, hoe, and rake, which generally is the 
best mulch that can be applied. 

With the proper care and attention, our seedlings will 
generally grow from three to four feet, and make stout, 
short-jointed wood this second season. Should any of 
them look particularly promising, fruit may be obtained 
a year sooner by taking the wood of it, and grafting 
strong old vines with it. These grafts will generally bear 
fruit the next season. The method to be followed will be 
given in another place. 

At the end of the second season the vines should be 
pruned to about three eyes or buds, and the soil hilled up 
around them so as to cover them up completely. The 
next spring take off the covering, and when the young 
shoots appear allow only two to grow. After they have 
grown about eighteen inches, pinch off the top of the 
weakest, so as to throw the growth into the strongest 
shoot, which keep neatly tied to the stake, treating it as 



30 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

the summer before, allowing all the laterals to grow. 
Cultivate the soil well. At the end of this season's 
growth the vines should be strong enough to bear the 
following summer. If they have made from eight to ten 
feet of stocky groAvth, the leading cane may be pruned to 
ten or twelve eyes, and the smaller one to a spur of two 
eyes. If they Avill fruit at all, they will show it next sum- 
mer, Avhen only those promising well should be kept, and 
the barren and worthless ones discarded. 

11. — BY SINGLE EYES. 

As this method is mostly followed only by those who 
propagate the vine for sale in large quantities, and but to 
a limited extent by the practical vineyardist, I will give 
only an outline of the most simple manner, and on the 
cheapest plan. Those wishing further information will 
do well to consult " The Grape Culturist," by Mr. A. S. 
Fuller, in which excellent work they will find full in- 
structions. 

The principal advantages of this mode of propaga- 
tion are the following : 1st. The facility with which 
new and rare kinds can be multiplied, as every well 
ripened bud almost can be transformed into a plant. 
2d. As the plants are started under glass, by bottom 
heat, it lengthens the season of their growth from one to 
two months. 3d. Every variety of grape can be propa- 
gated by this method with the greatest ease, even those 
which only grow with the greatest difficulty, or not at all, 
from cuttings in open ground. 

As to the merits or demerits of plants grown under 
glass from single eyes, to those grown from cuttings or 
layers in open ground, opinions differ very much, and both 
have their advocates. For my part, I do not see why a 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 31 

plant grown carefully from a single eye should not be as 
good as one propagated by any other method; a poor 
plant is not worth having, whetlier propagated by this or 
any other method, and, unfortunately, we have too many 
of them. 

THE PROPAGATING HOUSE. 

I will only give a description of a lean-to of the cheap- 
est kind, for which any common hot-bed sash, six feet 
long, can be used. 

Choose for a location the south side of a hill, as, by 
making the house almost entirely underground, a great 
deal of building material can be saved. Excavate the 
ground as for a cellar — say five feet deep on the upper 
side, seven feet wide, and of any length to suit conve- 
nience, and the number of j)lants you wish to grow. In- 
side of the excavation set posts or scantlings, the upper 
row to be seven feet long above the ground, and two feet 
below the ground ; the lower row four and one-half feet 
above the ground, so that the roof will have about two and 
one-half feet j)itch. Upon these nail the rafters, of two-inch 
planks. Then take boards, say common inch-plank, and set 
them up behind the posts, one above the other, to prevent 
the earth from falling in. This will make all the wall that is 
needed on both sides. On the ends, boards can be nailed 
to both sides of the posts, and the intervening space filled 
with spent tan or saw-dust. Upon the rafters place the 
sash on the lower side ; the upper side may be covered 
with boards or shingles, where also the A^entilating holes 
can be left, to be closed with trap-doors. The house is to be 
divided into two compartments — the furnace-room on one 
end, about eight feet long, and the propagating house. 
The furnace is below the ground, say four feet long, the 



32 CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 

flue to be made of brick, and to extend under the whole 
length of the bench. To make the flue, lay a row of 
bricks flat and crosswise ; on the ends of these place two 
others on their edges, and across the top lay a row flat, 
in the same way as the bottom ones were placed. This 
gives the flue four inches by eight in the clear. The flue 
should rise rather abruptly from the furnace, say about a 
foot ; it can then be carried fifty feet with, say six to nine 
inches rise, and still have sufiicient draft. Inside of the 
propagating room we have again two compartments — the 
propagating bench, nearest to the furnace, and a shelf for 
the reception of the young plants, after their first trans- 
planting from the cutting-pots or boxes. Make a shelf or 
table along the whole length of the house ; at the lower 
end it should be about eighteen inches from the glass, 
and five feet wide. To a house of, say fifty feet, the 
propagating bench may be, say twelve feet long, and the 
room below it and around the flue should be inclosed 
with boards, as it will keep the heat better. 



MODE OF OPERATING. 

The wood should be cut from the vmes in the fall, as 
soon as the leaves have dropped. For propagating, use 
only firm, well-ripened wood of the last season's growth, 
and about medium thickness. These are to be preferred 
to either very large or very small ones. The time to 
commence operating will vary according to climate ; here 
it should be the early part of February. The wood to be 
used for propagating can be kept in a cool cellar, in sand, 
or buried in the ground out doors. Take out the cut- 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 33 

tings, and cut them up into pieces as represented in 
figure 1. 




Fig. 1. 

Throw these into water as they are cut ; it will prevent 
them from becoming dry. It will be found of benefit 
with hard-wooded varieties to pack them in damp moss for 
a week or so before they are put into the propagating 
pots or boxes; it will soften the alburnous matter, and 
make them strike root more readily. They should then 
be put into, say six-inch pots, filled to about an inch of 
the top with pure coarse sand, firmly packed. Place the 
cuttings, the buds up, about an inch aj^art, all over the 
surface of the pot; press down firmly with thumb and 
forefinger until the bud is even with the surface ; sift on 
sand enough to cover the upper point of the bud about a 
quarter of an inch deep ; press down evenly, using the 
bottom of another pot for the purpose, and apply water 
enough to moisten the whole contents of the pot. In- 
stead of the pots, shallow boxes of about six inches deep, 
can also be used, Avith a few holes bored in the bottom 
for drainage. 

After the pots have been filled with cuttings they are 
placed in a temperature of from 40° to 45°, where they 
remain from two to three weeks, water being applied 
only enojigh to keej:) them moist, not wet. As roots are 
formed at a much lower degree of temperature than 
leaves, they should not be forced too much at the begin- 
ning, or the leaves will appear before we have any roots 
to support them. But when the t3utting has formed its 

2* 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



roots first, the foliage, when it does appear, will grow 
much more rapidly, and without any check. Then re- 
move them to another position, plunging the pots into 
sand to the depth of, say three inches, and raise the tem- 
perature at first to G0° for the first few days, then gradu- 
ally raise it to 80°. When the buds begin to push, raise the 
temperature to 90° or 95 '^, and keep the air moist by fre- 
quent waterings, say once a day. The best for this purpose 
is pure rain-water, but it should be of nearly the same 
temperature as the air in the hous«e, for, if applied cold, it 
would surely check the growth of the jDlants. The yoimg 
growth should be examined every day, to see if there is 
any sign of rotting ; should this be the case, give a little 
more air, but admit no sudden cold currents, as they are 
often fatal. The glass should be whitewashed, to avoid 
the direct rays of the sun. 

When the young vines have made a growth of two 
or three inches shift them into three-inch pots. 

So far we have used only pure sand, which did not 
contain much plant food, because the groAvth was pro- 
duced from the food stored up in the bud and wood, and 
what little they obtained from the sand, water, and air. 
Now, however, our young vines want more substantial 
food. They should therefore be potted into soil, mixed 
from rotten sod, leaf-mould, and well-decomposed old 
barnyard manure. This should be mixed together six 
months before using ; add, before using, one-quarter sand, 
then mix thoroughly, and sift all through a coarse sieve. 
In oj^erating, put a quantity of soil on the potting bench, 
provide a quantity of broken bricks or potsherds for 
drainage, loosen the plants from the pots by laying them 
on their side, giving them a sudden jar with the hand, to 
loosen the sand around them; draw out the plant carefully, 
holding it with one hand, while with the other you ])lace 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 35 

a piece of the drainage material into the pot ; cover it 
with soil about an inch ; then put in the plant, holding it 
so that the roots s^Dread out naturally ; fill in soil around 
them until the pot is full ; press the soil down firmly, but 
not hard enough to break the roots. "When the plants 
are potted give them water to settle the earth around the 
roots, and keep the air somewhat confined for a few days, 
until they have become established, when more air may 
be given them. Keep the temperature at 85° to 95° 
during the day, and 70° to 80° during the night. 

When the plants have made about six inches of growth 
they can either be placed in another house, or in hot-bed 
frames, if they are to be kept under glass. The usual 
manner of keeping them in 2)ots during summer, shifting 
them into larger and larger sizes, I consider injurious to 
the free development of the plants, as the roots are dis- 
torted and cramped against the sides of the pots, and can- 
not spread naturally. I prefer shifting them into cold 
frames, in which beds have been prepared of light, rich 
soil, into which the young plants can be planted, and kept 
under whitewashed hot-bed sashes for a while, Avhich, 
after several weeks, may be removed, and only a light 
shading substituted in their place, which, after several 
weeks m.ore, can also be removed. Thus the young 
plants are gradually hardened, their roots have a chance 
to spread evenly and naturally, without any cramping ; 
and such plants, although they may not make as tall a 
growth as those kept under glass all the season, will really 
stand transplanting into the vineyard much better than 
those hot-house pets, which may look well enough, but 
really are, like spoiled an(ikpampered children, but poorly 
fitted to stand the rough vicissitudes of every-day life. 

The young plants should be lightly tied to small sticks 
provided for the purpose, as it will allow free circulation 



36 CULTURE OF TllK GRAPE. 

of air, and admit the sun more freely to the roots. In the 
fall, after their leaves have dropped, they should be 
carefully taken up, shortened to about a foot of their 
growth, and they are then ready either to sell, if they are 
to be disposed of in that way, or for planting into the vine- 
yard. They should, however, be carefully assorted, 
making three classes of them — the strongest, medium, 
and the smallest — each to be put separate. The latter 
generally are not fit to transplant into the vineyard, but 
they may be heeled in, and grown in beds another year, 
when they will often make very good plants. Heeling in 
may be done as shown in figure 2, laying the vines as 




Fig. 2. 

close in the row^s as they can conveniently be laid, and 
then fill the trench with well-pulverized soil. They can 
thus be safely kept during the winter. 

I have only given an outline of the most simple and 
cheapest mode of growing plants from single eyes, such 
as even the vineyardist may follow. For descriptions of 
more extensive and costly buildings, if they desire them, 
they had better apply to an architect. I have also not 
given the mode of propagating from green w^ood, as I do 
not think, plants thus propagated are desirable. They 
are apt to be feeble and diseased, and I think, the country 
at large would be m.uch better oif, had not a single plant 
ever been produced by that method. 

Plants from single eyes may also be grown in a com- 
mon hot-bed ; but as in this the heat can not be as well 



CULTUllE Oi'' THK GJIAI'E. 



87 



regulated at will, I think it, upon the whole, not desirable, 
as the expense of a j^i'opagating house on the cheap plan 
I have indicated, is but very little more, and 
will certainly in the long run, pay much better. 
Of course, close attention and careful watching 
is the first requisite in all the operations. 



III. BY CUTTINGS IN OPEN AIR. 

This is certainly the easiest and most simple 
method for the vineyardist ; can be followed 
successfully with the majority of varieties, 
which have moderately soft wood, and even 
a part of the hard wood varieties will gener- 
ally grow, if managed carefully. 



MODE OF OPERATING. 

There are several methods, which are fol- 
lowed with more or less success. I will first 
describe that which I have found most suc- 
cessful, namely, short cuttings, of two or three 
eyes each, which are made of any sound, well 
ripened wood, of last season's growth. Prune 
the vines in the fall or early winter, and make 
the cuttings as soon as convenient ; for if the 
wood is not kept perfectly fresh and green, 
the cuttings will fail to grow. Now, cut up 
all the sound, well-ripened wood into lengths 
of from two to four eyes each, making them 
of a uniform length of say eight inches, and 
prepare them as shown in figure 3. 



.J 



Fu;. 



38 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

These should be tied into convenient bundles, from 100 
to 250 in each, taking care to even the lower ends, and 
then buried in the ground, making a hole somewhat 
deeper than the cuttings are long, into which the bundles 
are set on their lower ends, and soil thrown in between 
and over them. In spring, as soon as the ground is dry 
enough, the cutting-bed should be prepared. Choose for 
this a light, rich soil, which should be well pulverized, to 
the depth of at least a foot, and if not light enough, it 
should be made so by adding some leaf mould. Now 
draw a line along the whole length of the bed ; then take 
a spade and put it down perpendicular along the line or 
nearly so, moving it a little backwards and forwards, so 
as to open the cut. Now take the cutting and press it 
down into the cut thus made, until the upper bud is even 
with the surface of the soil. The cuttings may be put 
close in the rows, say an inch apart, and the rows made 
two feet apart. Press the ground firmly down with your 
foot along the line of cuttings, so as to pack it closely 
around the cutting. After the bed is finished, mulch 
them with straw, or litter, spent tan or saw-dust, say 
about an inch thick, and if none of these can be had, 
leaves from the forest may be used for the purpose. This 
will serve to protect the young leaves from the sun, and 
will also keep an even moisture during the heat of sum- 
mer, at the same time keeping the soil loose and porous. 
If weeds appear, they should be pulled up, and the cut- 
ings, kept clean through the summer. They will gen- 
erally make a firm, hardy growth of from one to four feet, 
have become used to all the hardships and changes of the 
weather ; and as they have formed their roots just where 
they ought to be, about eight inches below the ground, 
will not suffer so much from transplanting, as either a 
single eye or a layer, whose roots have to be put much 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 39 

deejDer in transplanting, than they were before, and thus, 
as it were, become acclimated to the lower regions. For 
these reasons, I think, that a good plant grown from a 
cutting is preferable to that propagated by any other 
method. In the Fall, the vines are carefully taken up, 
assorted and heeled in, in the same manner as described, 
with single eyes, and cut back to about three inches of 
their growth. They are then ready for transplanting into 
the vineyard. 

IV. BY LAYERING. 

This is a very convenient method of increasing such 
varieties as will not grow readily from cuttings ; and vines 
thus propagated will, if treated right, make very good 
plants. To layer a vine, shorten in its last season's 
growth to about one-half; then prepare the ground 
thoroughly, pulverizing it well ; then, early in spring 
make a small furrow, about an inch deejJ, then bend the 
cane down and fasten it firmly in the bottom of the 
trench, by wooden hooks or pegs, made for the ,pur- 
pose. They may thus be left, until the young shoots 
have grown, say six inches ; then fill up with finely pul- 
verized soil or leaf-mould. The vines will thus strike root 
generally at every joint. The young shoots may be tied 
to small sticks, provided for the purpose, and when they 
have grown about a foot, their tips should be ^^inched off 
to make them grow more stocky. In the Fall they are 
taken up carefully, commencing to dig at the end furthest 
removed from the vine, and separate each plant between 
the joints, so that every shoot has a system of roots by 
itself They are then either planted immediately, or 
heeled in as described before. 



40 CULTTRE OF THE GIlAl'E. 

V. BY GRAFTING. 

The principal advantages to be gained by this method 
are : 1st. The facility by which new and rare kinds may 
be increased, by grafting them on strong stocks of healthy 
varieties, when they will often grow from ten to twenty 
feet the first season, producing an abundance of wood to 
propagate. 2d. The short time in which fruit can be 
obtained from new and untried varieties, as their grafts 
will generally bear the next season. 3d. In every vineyard 
there are, in these days of many varieties, vines which 
have proved inferior, yet by grafting into them 
some superior variety, they may be made very 
valuable. 4th. The facility by which vines can 
be forced under glass, by grafting on small 
pieces of roots, and the certainty with Avhich 
every bud can thus be made to grow. 

The vine, however, does not unite with the 
same facility as the pear and apple, and, to ensure 
success, must be grafted under ground, which 
makes the operation a difficult and disagreeable 
one. It will therefore hardly become a general 
practice ; but, for the purposes above named, is 
of sufficient importance, to make it desirable that 
every vineyardist should be able to perform it. 
I have generally had the best success in grafting 
here about the middle of March, in the following 
manner : Dig away the ground around the vine 
you wish to graft, imtil you come to a smooth 
place to insert your scion ; then cut off the vine 
with a sharp knife, and insert one or two scions, 
as in common cleft-grafting, taking care to cut 
the wedge on the scion very thin, with shoulders 
Fig. 4 ^jj ^^q^}^ sides, as shown in Figure 4, cutting your 



CULTURE OF THE GPAPE. 41 

scion to two eyes, to better insure success. Great 
care must be taken to insert the scion properly, as 
the inner bark or liber of the vine is very thin, and 
the success of the operation depends upon a perfect 
junction of the stock and scion. If the vine is strong 
enough to hold the scion firmly, no further bandage is 
necessary ; if not, it should be wound firmly and 
evenly with bass bark. Then press the soil firmly on 
the cut, and fill up the hole with well pulverized 
earth, to the top of the scion. Examine the stock 
from time to time, and remove all wild shoots and suckers, 
which it may throw up, as they will rob the graft of 
nourishment and enfeeble it. 

Others prefer to graft in May, when the leaves have 
expanded, and the most rapid flow of sap has ceased, 
keeping the scions in a cool place, to prevent the buds 
from starting. The operation is performed in precisely 
the same manner, and will be just as successful, I think, 
but the grafts that have been put in early, have the 
advantage of several weeks over the others, and the latter 
will seldom make as strong a growth, or ripen their 
wood as well as those put in early. 

Mr. A. S. Fuller performs the operation in the fall, pre- 
venting the graft from freezing by inverting a flower-pot 
over it, and then covering with straw or litter. He claims 
for this method — 1st. That it can be performed at a time 
when the ground is more dry, and in better condition, 
and business not so pressing as in spring. — 2d. That the 
scion and stock have more time to unite, and will form 
their junction completely during the winter, and will 
therefore start sooner, and make a more rapid growth than 
in spring. It certainly looks feasible enough, and is well 
worth trying, as, when the operation succeeds, it must 
evidently have advantages over any of the other modes. 



42 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

Vines 1 had grafted in March have sometimes made 
twenty to thirty feet of growth, and produced a full crop 
the next season. This will show one the advantage to be 
derived from it in propagating new and scarce varieties, 
and in hastening the fruiting of them. Should a seedling, 
for instance, look very promising in foliage and general 
appearance, fruit may be obtained from it from one to 
two seasons sooner by grafting some of the wood on 
strong stocks, than from the original plant. Hence the 
vast importance of grafting, even to the practical vine- 
yardist. 



THE VINEYARD. 



LOCATION AND SOIL. 



As the selection of a proper location is of vast import- 
ance, and one of the main conditions of success, great care 
and judgment should be exercised in the choice. Some 
varieties of grapes may be grown on almost any soil, it is 
true; but even they will show a vast difference in the 
quality of the fruit, even if the quantity were satisfactory ; 
on indifferent soil, and in an inferior location. Every- 
body should grow grapes enough for his own use, who 
owns an acre of ground, but every one cannot grow them 
and make the most delicious wine. 

The best locations are generally on the hillsides, along 
our larger rivers, water- courses, and lakes, sloping to the 
East, South, and Southwest, as they are generally more 
exempt from late spring frosts and early frosts in fall. 
The location should be sheltered from the cold winds 
from the north and northwest, but fully exj)osed to the 
prevailing winds in summer from the south and south- 
west. If a hill is chosen at any distance from a large 
body of water, it should be high and airy, with as gentle 
a slope as can be obtained. The locations along creeks 
and smaller Avater-courses should be particularly avoided, 
as they are subject to late spring frosts, and are generally 
damp and moist. 

43 



44 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

The soil should be a dry, calcareous loam, sufficiently 
deep, say three feet ; if possible, draining itself readily. 
Should this not be the case naturally, it should be done 
with tiles. 

I was much struck by the force of a remark made by 
medical friend last summer, when, in consequence of the 
continual rains, the ague was very prevalent. It was 
this : wherever you will find the ague an habitual guest 
with the inhabitants you need not look for healthy grape- 
vines. Wherever we find stagnant water let us avoid the 
neighboring hillsides, for they would not be congenial to 
our grape-vines. But on the bluffs overhanging the 
banks of our large streams, especially on the northern and 
western sides, where the vines are sheltered from the 
north and west winds, and fully exposed to the warm 
southern winds of our summer days, and where the fogs 
arising from the water yet give sufficient humidity to the 
atmosphere, even in the hottest summer days, to re- 
fresh the leaf during the night and morning hours ; 
where the soil on the southern and eastern slopes is a 
mixture of decomposed stone and leaf-mould, and feels 
like velvet to the feet — there is the paradise for the 
grape ; and the soil is already better prepared for it than 
the hand of man can ever do. Such locations should be 
cheap to the grape-grower at amj price. We find them 
very frequently along the northern banks of the Missouri 
and Mississippi rivers, and they will no doubt become the 
favored grape regions of the country. The grape grows 
there with a luxuriance and health which is almost 
incredible to those living in less favored locations. 

But the question may be asked here, what shall be 
done by those who do not live in these favored regions, 
and yet would like to grow grapes ? I answer, let them 
choose the best location they have, the most free and airy, 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. " 45 

and let them choose only those sturdy varieties that with- 
stand e very thin <^. They cannot grow the most delicate 
varieties — the Herbemont, the Delaware, the Clara, are not 
for them ; but they can grow the Concord, Hartford Pro- 
lific, and Norton's Virginia, and they at least are " very 
good," although they may not be the " best." There is no 
excuse for any one in this country why he should not 
grow his own grapes, for the use of his family at least, if 
he has any ground to grow them on. 

PREPARING THE SOIL. 

In this, the foundation of all grape-growing, the vine- 
yardist must also look to the condition in which he finds 
the soil. Should it be free of stones, stumps, and other 
obstructions, the plough and sub-soil plough will be all- 
suffieient. 

Should your soil be new, perhaps a piece of wild forest 
land, have it carefully grubbed, and every tree and stump 
taken out by the roots. After the ground is cleared take 
a large breaking-plough, with three yoke of sturdy oxen, 
and plough as deep as you can, say twelve to fourteen 
inches. Now follow in the same furrow with an imple- 
ment we call here a sub-soil stirrer, and which is simply a 
plough-share of wedge shape, running in the bottom of 
the furrow, and a strong coulter, running up from it 
through the beam of the plough, sharp in front, to cut the 
roots ; the depth of the furrow is regulated by a movable 
Avheel running in front, which can be set by a screw. 
With two yoke of oxen this will loosen the soil to the 
depth of, say twenty inches, which is sufl[icient, unless the 
sub-soil is very tenacious. In land already cultivated, 
where there are no roots to obstruct, two yoke of oxen 
or four horses attached to the plough, and one yoke of 



46 CULTUIIH OF THE GRAPE. 

oxen or a pair of horses or mules to the sub-soil plough, 
will be sufficient. In stony soil the pick and shovel must 
take the place of the plough, as it would be impossible to 
work it thorouglily with the latter ; but I think there is no 
advantage in the common method of trenching or inverting 
the soil, as is now practiced to a very great extent. If 
we examine the growth of our native vines we Avill gen- 
erally find their roots extending along the surface of the 
soil. It is unnatural to suppose that the grape, the most 
sun-loving of all our plants, should be buried with its 
roots several feet below the surface of the soil, far beyond 
the reach of sun and air. Therefore, if you can afford it, 
work your soil deep and thoroughly ; it will be labor well 
invested ; is the best preventive against drouth, and also 
the best drainage in wet weather ; but have it in its natu- 
ral position — not invert it ; and do not plant too deep. 
Should the soil be very poor it may be enriched by 
manure, ashes, bone-dust, etc. ; but it will seldom be 
found necessary, as most of our soil is rich enough; and 
it is not advisable to stimulate the growth too much, as it 
will be rank and unhealthy, and injurious to the quality 
and flavor of the fruit. 

Wet spots may be drained by gutters filled with loose 
stones, or tiles, and then covered Avith earth. Surface- 
draining can be done by running a small ditch or furrow 
every sixth or eighth row, parallel with the hillside, and 
leadin<r into a main ditch at the end or the middle of the 
vineyard. Steep hillsides should be terraced or benched , 
but, as this is very expensive, they should be avoided. 



WHAT SHALL WE PLANT ? 

CHOICE OF VARIETIES. 

It is a very difficult matter, in a vast country like ours, 
where the soil and climate differ so much, to recommend 
any thing ; and I think it a mistake, into which many of 
our prominent grape-groAvers have fallen, to recommend 
any variety, simply because it succeeded well witli tlxem^ for 
general cultivation. Grape-growing is, perhaps, more 
than any other branch of horticulture or pomology, de- 
pendent upon soil, location and climate, and it will not do 
to dictate to the inhabitants of a country, in which the 
" extremes meet," that they should all plant one variety. 
Yet this has been done by some who pretend to be 
authorities, and it shows, more than any thing else, that 
they have more arrogance than knowledge. I, for my 
part, have seen such widely different results, from the 
same varieties, under the same treatment, and in vine- 
yards only a few miles apart, but with a different soil 
and different aspect, that I am reluctant to recommend 
to my next neighbor, what he shall plant. 

But, while the task is a difficult one, yet we may lay down 
certain rules, which can govern us in selection of varieties 
to a certain extent. We should choose — 1st. The variety 
v»^hieh has given the most general satisfaction in the State 
or county in which we live, or the nearest locality to us. 
2d — Visit the nearest accessible vineyard in the month 
of August and September, observe closely Avhich variety 
has the healthiest foliage and fruit; ripens the most 
uniformly and perfectly ; and either sells best in market, 

47 



48 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

or makes the best wine, and which, at the same time, is 
of good quality, and productive enough. Your obser- 
vations, thus taken, will be a better guide than the opinion 
of the most skillful grape grower a thousand miles off. 

I will now name a few of the most prominent varieties 
which should at least be tried by every grape grower. 

THE CONCORD. 

This grape seems ta have given the most general 
satisfaction all over the country, and seems to be the 
" grape for the million." Wherever heard from, it seems 
to be uniformly healthy and productive. Our Eastern 
friends complain of its inferior quality; this may be 
owing partly to their short seasons, and partly to the too 
early gathering of the fi-uit. It is one of those varieties 
which color early, but should hang a long tmie after 
coloring, to attain its full perfection. Here it is at least 
very good ; makes an excellent wine, and, if we take into 
consideration its enormous productiveness, its vigor and 
adaptability to all soils and climates, we must acknow- 
ledge that as yet it stands without a rival, and will be a 
safe investment almost anywhere. Our long summers 
bring it to a perfection of which our Eastern friends 
have no idea, until they try it here. It will do well in 
almost any soil. 

Norton's Virginia. 

This, so far, is the leading grape for red wine, and its 
reputation here and in the entire West is now so fully 
established, that it would be difficult indeed to persuade 
our people into the belief, that any other grape could 
make a better red wine. It is healthy and uniformly pro- 
ductive, and will be safe to plant, I think, in nearly all the 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 49 

Western States. I rather doubt that our Eastern friends 
will succeed in making a first class wine from it, as I 
think their summers are too short, to develop all its good 
qualities. Will succeed in almost any soil, but attains its 
greatest perfection in southern slopes with somewhat 
strong soil. 

^ HERBEMONT. 

This is a truly delicious grape, but somewhat tender, 
and wants a long season to fully ripen its fruit and bring 
out all its good qualities. Will hardly do much further 
north than we are here, in Missouri, but is, I think, des- 
tined to be one of the leading grapes for the Southern 
States. If you have a warm, southern exposure, somewhat 
stony, with limestone foundation, plant the Herbemont, 
and you will not be disappointed. It is healthy and very 
productive; more refreshing than the Delaware, and 
makes an excellent wine. 

DELAWARE. 

Is much recommended by Eastern authorities, and 
where it succeeds, is certainly a fine grape and makes a 
delicious wine. Here at the West, it has proved a failure 
in most locations, being subject to leaf-blight, and a feeble 
grower. There are some locations, however, where it 
will flourish ; and whoever is the fortunate possessor of 
such a one should not forget to plant it. It seems to 
flourish best in light, warm, somewhat sandy soil. 

HARTFORD PROLIFIC. 

This is immensely productive ; of very fair quality here; 
hardy and healthy ; and if planted for early marketing, 



50 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

will give general satisfaction. It hangs well to the bunch, 
and even makes a very fair wine. Will flourish in almost 
every soil. 

CLINTON. 

Hardy, healthy and productive ; will make a fair wine, 
but is here not equal even to the Concord, and far behind 
the Norton's Virginia in quality. May be desirable 
further north. 



PLANTING. 

The distance at which the vines may be planted will of 
course vary somewhat with the growth of tlie different 
varieties. The rows may all be six feet apart, as this 
is the most convenient distance for cultivating, and gives 
ample space for a horse and man to pass through with 
plough or cultivator. Slow-growing varieties, such as 
the Delaware and CataAvba, may be planted six feet apart 
in the rows, making the distance six feet each way; 
but the Concord, Norton's Virginia, Herbemont, Hart- 
ford Prolific, Cunningham, and all the strong growers, 
will need more room, say ten feet in the rows, so as to 
give the vines ample room to spread, and allow free cir- 
ciilation of air — one of the first conditions of health in the 
vines, and quality of the fruit. 

The next question to be considered is : Shall we plant 
cuttings or rooted plants ? My preference is decidedly 
for the latter, for the following reasons : Cuttings are 
uncertain, even of those varieties which grow the most 
readily ; and we cannot expect to have anything like an 
even growth, such as we can have if the plants are care- 
fully assorted. Some of the cuttings will always fail, and 
there will be gaps and vacancies which are hard to fill, 
even if the strongest plants are taken for replanting. 
Therefore7 let us choose plants. 

But we should not only choose rooted plants, but the 
best we can get ; and these are good one year old, 
whether grown from cuttings, layers or single eyes. A 
good plant should have plenty of strong, well-ripened 

51 



52 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

roots ; not covered with excrescences and warts^ which is 
always a sign of ill health ; but smooth and firm ; with 
well-rij^ened, short-jointed wood. They should be of 
uniform size, as they will then make an even stand in the 
vineyard, when not forced by; the propagator into an mi- 
naturally rank growth by artificial manures. This latter 
consideration, I think, is very important, as we can hardly 
expect such plants, which have been petted and pampered, 
and fed on rich diet, to thrive on the every-day fare they 
will find in the vineyard. Do not take second or third 
rate plants, if you can help it ; they may live and grovf , 
but they will never make the growth which a plant of 
better quality would make. We may hear of good 
results sometimes, obtained by planting second-rate plants, 
but certainly the results would be better if better plants 
had been chosen. Especially important is the selection 
of good plants with those varieties which do not propa- 
gate and transplant readily, such as the Norton's Virginia, 
Delaware, and other hard-wood varieties. Better pay 
double the price you would have to give for inferior 
plants ; the best are the cheapest in the end, as they will 
make the healthiest vines, and bear sooner. 

But I would also caution my readers against those who 
will sell you " extra large layers, for immediate bearing," 
and whose " plants are better than those whom anybody 
else may grow," as their advertisements will term it. It is 
time that this humbug should cease ; time that the public 
in general should know, that they cannot, in nature and 
reason, expect any fruit from a plant transplanted the 
same season ; and that those who pretend it can be done, 
without vital injury to the plant, are only seeking to fill 
their pockets at the cost of their customers. They know 
well enough themselves that it cannot be done without 
killing or fatally injuring the plant, yet they will impose 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 53 

upon the credulity of their confiding customers; make 
them pay from |3 to $5 a piece for a plant, which these 
good souls will buy, Avith a vision of a fine crop of grapes 
before their eyes, plant them, with long tops, on which 
they may obtain a few sickly bunches of fruit the first sea- 
son; but if they do the vines will make a feeble growth, 
not ripen their fruit, and perhaps be winter-killed the next 
season. It is like laying the burden of a full grown manl 
on the shoulders of a child ; what was perhaps no burden 
at all to the one, Avill kill the other. Then, again, these 
*' plants, superior to those of every one else." It is the duty 
of every propagator and nursery-man to raise good plants; 
he can do it if he tries ; it is for his interest as much as 
for the interest of his customers to raise plants of the best 
quality ; and we have no reason to suppose that Ave are 
infinitely superior to our neighbors. While the first is 
a downright swindle, the latter is the height of arrogance. 
If we had a good deal less of bombast and self laudation, 
and more of honesty and fair dealing in the profession, 
the public would have more confidence in professional 
men, and would be more likely to practice what we 
preach. Therefore, if you look around for plants, do not 
go to those who advertise, " layers for immediate bear- 
ing," or " plants of superior quality to all others grown ; " 
but go to men who have honesty and modesty enough to 
send you a sample of their best plants, if required, and 
who are not averse to let you see how they grow them. 
Choose their good, strong healthy, one year old ^^lants, 
Avith strong, firm, healthy roots, and let those Avho wish to 
be humbugged buy the layers for immediate bearing. You 
must be content to wait until the third year for the first 
crop ; but, then, if you have treated your plants as you 
ought to do, you can look for a crop that Avlll make your 
heart glad to see and gather it. You cannot, in reason 



54 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

and nature exj^ect it sooner. If your ground has been 
prepared in the Fall, so much the better, and if thrown 
into ridges, so as to elevate th^ ground somewhat, where 
the row is to be, they may be planted in the Fall. The 
advantages of Fall planting are as follows : The ground 
Avill generally Avork better, as w^e have better weather in 
the Fall, and generally more time to spare ; the ground 
can settle among the roots; the roots will have healed 
and callused over, and the young plant be ready to start 
with full vigor in spring. 






/ 



/ 

/ / 
/ 




) 



Fig. 5. 

Mark your ground, laying it off with a line, and put 
down a small stick or peg, eighteen inches long, wher- 
ever a plant is to stand. Dig a hole, about eight to ten 
inches deep, as shown in figure 5, in a slanting direction, 
raising a small mound in the .bottom, of well-pulverized, 
mellow earth ; then, having pruned your plant as shown 
in figure 6, Avith its roots and tops shortened in, as shown 
by the dotted lines, lay it in, resting the lower end on the 
mound of earth, spread out its roots evenly to all sides, 
and then fill in among the roots with rich, well-pulverized 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



55 




56 CULTURK OF THE GRAPE. 

earth, the upper bud being left above the ground. When 
planted in the fall, raise a small mound around your vine, so 
that the water will drain oif, and throw a handful of straw 
or any other mulch on top, to protect it. Of course, 
the operation should be 2:)erformed when the ground is 
dry enough to be light and mellow, and will readily 
work in among the roots. 

TREATMENT OF THE VINE THE FIRST SUMMER. 

The first summer after planting nothing is necessary 
but to keep the ground free from weeds, and mellow, 
stirring freely with hoe, rake, plough, and cultivator, 
whenever necessary. Should the vines grow strong they 
may be tied to the stakes provided in planting, to elevate 
them somewhat above the ground. Allow all the laterals 
to grow, as it will make the wood stronger and more 
stocky. They may even be summer-layered in July, lay- 
ing down the young cane, and covering the main stem 
about an inch deep with mellow soil, leaving the ends of 
the laterals out of the ground. "With free-growing kinds, 
such as the Concord and Hartford Prolific, these will 
generally root readily, and make very good plants, the 
laterals making the stems of the layers. With varieties 
that do not root so readily, as the Delaware and Norton's 
Virginia, it will seldom be successful, and should not be 
practiced. The vineyard may thus be made to pay ex- 
penses, and furnish the vines for further plantations the 
first year. They are taken up and divided in the fill, as 
directed in the chapter for layers. In the fall, prune the 
vine to three buds, if strong enough, to one or two 
if it has only made a weak growth. A fair growth is 
from four to five feet the first summer. During the 
winter, trellis should be provided for the vines, as we may 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 57 

expect them to grow from twelve to fifteen feet the com- 
ing summer. The cheapest and most economical are 
those of strong upright posts, say four mches in diameter, 
made of red cedar if it can be had, if not, of any good, 
durable timber — mulberry, Igcust, or white oak — and 
seven feet long, along which No. 10 wire is stretched hori- 
zontally. Make the holes for the posts with a post-hole 
auger, two feet deep ; set in the posts, charred on one 
end, to make tliem durable. If wire is to be used, one 
post every sixteen feet will be enough, with a smaller 
stake between, to serve as a support for the wires. Now 
stretch your wire, the lowest one about two feet from the 
ground, the second one eighteen inches above it, and the 
third eighteen inches above the second. The wires may 
be fastened to the posts by nails, around which they can 
be twisted, or by loops of wire driven into the post. 
Where timber is plenty, laths made of black oak may be 
made to serve the same purpose ; but the posts must 
then be set much closer, and the wire will be tlie cheap- 
est and neatest in the end. A good many grape-growers 
train their vines to stakes, believing it to be cheaper, but 
I have found it more expensive than trellis made in the 
above manner, and it is certainly a very slovenly method, 
compared Avith the latter. Trellis is much more conve- 
nient for tying the vines, the canes can be distributed 
much more evenly, and the fruit and young wood, 
not being huddled and crowded together as on stakes, 
will ripen much more evenly, and be of better quality, as 
the air and sun have free access to it. 

TREATMENT OF THE VINE THE SECOND SUMMER. 

We find the young vine at the commencement of this 
season pruned to three buds of the last season's growtl>. 



58 



CULTURE OF THE GKAl'E. 



From these we may expect from two to three strong 
shoots or canes. Our first work will be to cultivate the 
whole ground^ say from four to six inches deep, plough- 
ing between the rows, and hoeing around the vines with 
a two-pronged German hoe, or Tcarst. Figure 7 shows 
one of these implements, of the best form for that pur- 





FiG. 7, 



pose. The ground should be completely inverted, but 
never do it in wet weather, as tliis will make the ground 
hard and cloggy. 

Of the young shoots, if there are three, leave only 
the two strongest, tying the best of them neatly to the 
trellis with bass, or pawpaw bark, or rye straw. If a 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 



59 



Catawba or Delaware, you may let them grow unchecked, 
tying them along the uppermost wire, when they have 
grown above it. The Concord, Herbemont, Norton's 
Virginia, and other strong-growing varieties, I treat in 
the following manner : When the young shoot has reached 
the second wire I pinch oiF its leader. This has the tend- 
ency to force the laterals into stronger growth, each 
forming a medium-sized cane. On these we intend to 
grow our fruit the coming season, as the buds on these 




Fig. 8. 



Fig. 9. 



laterals will generally produce more and finer fruit than 
the buds on the strong canes. Figure 8 will show the 
manner of training the second summer, with one cane 
layered, for the purpose of raising plants. This is done 
as described before ; only, as the vine will make a much 
stronger growth this season than the first, the layering 
may be done in June, as soon as the young shoots are 
strong enough. Figure 9 shows the vine primed and 
tied, at the end of the second season. Figure 10 
illastrates the manner of training and tying the Catawba 
or Delaware. 



60 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 




C5 
i-i 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 61 

The above is a combination of the single cane and bow 
system, and the horizontal arm training, which I first 
tried on the Concord from sheer necessity; when tlie 
results pleased me so much that I have adopted it with all 
strong-growing varieties. The circumstances which led 
me to the trial of this method were as follows : In the 
summer of 1862, when my Concord vines were making 
their second season's growth, we had, in the beginning of 
June, the most destructive hail storm I have ever seen 
here. Every leaf was cut from the vines, and the young 
succulent shoots Avere all cut off to about three to three 
and a half feet above the ground. The vines, being 
young and vigorous, pushed out the laterals vigorously, 
each of them making a fair-sized cane. In the fall, when 
I came to prune them, the main cane was not long 
enough, and I merely shortened in the laterals to from 
four to six buds each. On these I had as fine a crop of 
grapes as I ever saw, fine, large, well-developed bunches 
and berries, and a great many of them, as each had pro- 
duced its fruit- bearing shoot. Since that time I have fol- 
lowed this method altogether, and obtained the most 
satisfactory results. 

The ground should be kept even and mellow during 
the summer, and the vines neatly tied to the trellis with 
bast or straw. 

There are many other methods of training ; for in- 
stance, the old bow and stake training, which is followed 
to a great extent around Cincinnati, and was followed to 
some extent here. But it crowds the whole mass of fruit 
and leaves together so closely that mildew and rot will 
follow almost as a natural consequence, and those 
who follow it are almost ready to give uj) grape-culture 
in despair. Nor is this surprising. With their tenacious 
adherence to so fickle a variety as the Catawba, and 



62 CULTURE OF THE GllAPE. 

to practices and methods of which experience onght to 
have taught them the utter impracticability long ago, 
we need not be surprised that grape-culture is with them 
a failure. We have a class of grape-growers who never 
learn, nor ever forget, anything ; these we cannot expect 
should prosper. The grape-grower, of all others, should 
be a close observer of nature in her various moods, a 
thinking and a reasoning being; he should be trying and 
experimenting all the time, and be ready always to throw 
aside his old methods, should he find that another will 
more fully meet the wants of his plants. Only thus can 
he expect to prosper. 

There is also the arm system, of Avhich we hear so 
much now-a-days, and which certainly looks very pretty 
on paper. But paper is patient, and while it cannot be 
denied that it has its advantages, if every spur and shoot 
could be made to grow just as represented in drawings, 
with three fine bunches to each shoot ; yet, upon applying 
it practically, we find that vines are stubborn, and some 
shoots will outgrow others ; and before we hardly know 
how, the whole beautiful system is out of order. It may 
do to follow in gardens, on arbors and .walls, with a few 
vines, but I do not think that it will ever be successfully 
followed in vineyard culture for a number of years, as it 
involves too much labor in tying up, pruning, etc. I 
think the method described above Avill more fully meet 
the wants of the vinyardist than any I have yet seen 
tried ; it is so simple that every intelligent person can 
soon become familiar with it, and it gives us new, healthy 
wood for bearing every season. Pruning may be done in 
the fall, as soon as the leaves have dropped. 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 63 

TREATMENT OF THE VINE THE THIRD SEASON. 

At the commencement of the third season, we find our 
vine pruned to two spurs of two eyes each, and four lat- 
eral canes, of from four to six eyes each. These are tied 
firmly to the trellis as shown in figure 12, for which pur- 
pose small twigs of willows (especially the golden willow, 
of which every grape-grower should i^lant a supply) are 
the most convenient. The ground is ploughed and hoed 
deeply, as described before, taking care, however, not to 
plough so deep as to cut or tear the roots of the vine. 

Our vines being tied, ploughed, and hoed, we come to 
one of the most imj^ortant and delicate operations to be 
performed; one of as great — nay, greater — importance 
than pruning. I mean summer-pruning, or pinching, i. e. 
thumb or finger pruning. Fall-pruning, or cutting back, 
is but the beginning of the discipline under which we 
intend to keep our vines; summer-pruning is the con- 
tinuation, and one is useless, and cannot be followed 
systematically without the other. 

Let us look at our vine well, before we begin, and com- 
mence near the ground. The time to perform t^.e first 
summer-pruning is when the young shoots are about six 
to eight inches long, and when you can see plainly all the 
small bunches or buttons — the embryo fruit. We com- 
mence on the lower two spurs, having two buds each. 
From these two shoots have started. One of them we 
intend for a bearing cane next summer ; therefore allow 
it to grow unchecked for the present, tying it, if long 
enough, to the lowest wire. The other, which we intend 
for a spur again next fall, we pinch with thumb and 
finger to just beyond the last bunch or button, taking out 
the leader between the last bunch and the next leaf, 
as shown in figure 11, the cross line indicating where the 



6-i CULTURE OF TlIK CiJlAPK. 

leader is to be pinched off. We now come to the next 
spur, on the opposite side, where we also leave one cane 
to grow unchecked, and j^inch off the other. We now 
o-o over all the shoots coming from the arms or laterals 
tied to the trellis, and also pinch them beyond the last 
bunch. Should any of the buds have pushed out two 
shoots, we rub off the weakest ; we also take oif all bar- 
ren or weak shoots. If any of them are not sufficiently 
developed we pass them over, and go over the vines 
again, in a few days after the first pinching. 




Fig. 11. 

This early pinching of the shoot has a tendency to throw 
all the vigor into tlie development of the young bunch, and 
the leaves remaining on the shoot, which now grow with 
astonishing rapidity. It is a gentle checking, and leading 
the sap into other channels ; not the violent process which 
is often followed long after the bloom, when the wood 
has become so hardened that it must be cut with a knife, 
and by which the plant is robbed of a large quantity of 
its leaves, to the injury of both fruit and vine. Let any 



CULTURE OF TIIK GRAPE. G5 

of my readers, who Avisli to satisfy themselves, summer- 
prune a Ainc, according to the method described here, 
and leave the next vine until after the bloom, and he 
will plainly j^erceive the difference. The merit of first 
having practised this method here, which I consider one 
of vast importance in grape-culture, belongs to Mr. 
William Poeschel, of this place, Avho was led to do so, 
by observing the rapid development of the young bunches 
on a shoot which had accidentally been broken beyond 
the last bunch. Now, there is hardly an intelligent 
grape-grower here, who does not follow it; and I think 
it has added more than one-third to the quantity and 
quality of my croj^. It also gives a chance to destroy the 
small, white Avorm, a species of leaf-folder, Avhich is very 
troublesome just at this time, eating the young fruit and 
leaves, and Avhich makes its Aveb among the tender leaves 
at the end of the shoot. 

The bearing branches having all been pinched back, Ave 
can leave our vines alone until after the bloom, only tying 
up the young canes from the spurs, should it become 
necessary. But do not tie them over the bearing canes, 
but lead them to the empty s]3ace on both sides of the 
vine ; as our object must be to give the fruit all the air 
and light Ave can. 

By the time the grapes have bloomed, the laterals will 
haA'G pushed from the axils of the leaves on the bearing 
shoots. NoAV go over these again, and pinch each lateral 
back to one leaf, as shoAvn in Figure li2. This Avill make 
the leaf Avhich remains grow and ex2:)and rapidly, serving 
at the same time as a conductor of sap to the young bunch 
opposite, and shading it when it becomes fully developed. 
The canes from the spurs, which we left unchecked, and 
which Ave design to bear fruit the next season, may noAv 
also be stopped or pinched, Avhen they are about three 



C6 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 



feet long, to start their laterals into stronger growth. 
Pinch off all the tendrils ; this is a very busy time for the 
vine-dresser, and upon his close attendance and diligence 
now, depends, in a great measure, the value of his crop. 
Besides, " a stitch in time saves nine," and he can save an 
incredible amount of labor by doing everything at the 
proper time. 




V 



Fig. 12. 



In a short time, the laterals on the fruit-bearing 
branches which have been pinched will throw out suckers 
again. . These are stopped again, leaving one leaf of the 
young growth. Leave the laterals on the canes intended 
for next years' fruiting to grow unchecked, tying them 
neatly with bass, or pawpaw bark, or with rye straw. 

This is about all that is necessary for this summer, 
except an occasional tying up of a fruiting branch, should 
its burden become more than it can bear. But the 
majority of the branches will be able to sustain their fruit 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 67 

without tying, and the young growth which may yet 
start from the laterals may be left unchecked, as it will 
serve to shade the fruit when ripening. Of course, the 
soil must be kept clean and mellovr, as in the former 
summer. This short pruning is also a partial preventative 
against mildew and rot, and the last extremely wet season 
has again shown the importance of letting in light and air 
to all parts of the vine; as those vineyards, where a strict 
system of early summer pruning had been followed, did 
not suffer half as much from rot and mildew as those 
where the old slovenly method still prevailed. 

My readers will perceive, that Fall-pruning, or shorten- 
ing-in the ripened wood of the Adne, and summer-pruning, 
shortening in and thinning out the young growth, have one 
and all the same object in view, namely, to keep the vine 
within proper bounds, and concentrate all its energies for 
a two-fold object, namely, the production and ripening 
of the most perfect fruit, and the production of strong, 
healthy wood for the coming season's crop. Both ope- 
rations are, in fact, only different parts of one and the 
same system, of which summer-pruning is the preparatory, 
and fall pruning the finishing part. 

If we think that a vine is setting more fruit than 
it is able to bear and ripen perfectly, we have it in our 
power to thin it, by taking away all imperfect bunches, 
and feeble shoots. We should allow no more wood to 
grow than we need for next season's bearing ; if we allow 
three canes to grow where only two are needed, we waste 
the energies of the vine, which should all be concentrated 
upon ripening its fruit in the most perfect condition, and 
producing the necessary wood for next season's bearing 
and that of the best and most vigorous quality, but 
no more. If Ave prune the Aine too long, Ave over-tax its 
energies ; making it bear more fruit than it can perfect, 



68 CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 

and the result will be poor, badly-ripened fruit, and small 
and imperfect Avood. If, on the contrary, we prune the 
vine too short, we will have a rank, excessiA^e growth 
of wood and leaves, and encourage rot and mildew. 
Only practice and experience Avill teach us the exact 
medium, and the observing vintner will soon find out 
where he has been wrong, better than he can be taught 
by a hundred pages of elaborate advice. Different vari- 
eties will require different treatment, and it would be 
foolishness to suppose that two varieties so entirely differ- 
ent, as for instance, the Concord and the Delaware, could 
be pruned, trained and pinched in the same manner. The 
first, being a rank and vigorous grower, with long joints, 
will require much longer pruning than the latter, which 
is a slow-growing, short-jointed vine. Some varieties, the 
Taylor for instance, also the Norton, will fruit better if 
pruned to spurs on old wood, than on the young canes ; 
it will therefore be the best policy for the vintner in 
pruning these, to retain the old arms or canes, pruning all 
the healthy, strong shoots they have to two buds, as long 
as the old arms remain healthy ; always, however, grow- 
ing a young cane to fall back upon, should the old arm 
become diseased; whereas, the Catawba and Delaware, 
being only moderate growers, will flourish and bear best 
when pruned short, and to a cane of last season's growth. 
The Concord and Ilerbemont, again, will bear best on the 
laterals of last season's growth, and should be trained 
accordingly. Therefore it is, because only a few of the 
common laborers will take the pains to think and 
observe closely, that Ave find among them but few good 
Aune-dressers. 

At the end of this season, Ave find our Concords or 
Herbemonts, with the old fruit-bearing cane, and a spur 
on each side, from Avhich have groAvn tAvo canes ; one of 



CULTURE OF TIIK GRAPE. 69 

which Avns stopped, like all other fruit-bearing branches, 
and which we now prune to a spur of two eyes ; and 
another, which was stoj^ped at about three feet, and 
on which the laterals were allowed to grow unchecked. 
We therefore have one of these canes, with its laterals, on 
each side of the vine. These laterals are now pruned 
precisely as the last season, each being cut back to from 
four to six eyes, and the old cane, whicli has borne fruit, 
is cut away altogether. With Norton's Virginia, Taylor, 
and some others, which will bear more readily on spurs 
from old wood, the old cane is retained, provided the 
shoots on it are sound and healthy, with well developed 
buds ; the Aveak ones are cut away altogether, and the 
others cut back to two eyes each. One of the canes 
is jDruned, as in the Concord, to be tied to one side of the 
trellis, the next spring. This closes our summer and fall 
pruning for the third year. Of the gathering of the fruit, 
as well for market as for wine, I shall speak in another 
chapter. 

TREATMENT OF THE VINE THE FOURTH SUMMER. 

We may now consider the vine as established, able to 
bear a full crop, and when tied to the trellis in S]3ring, to 
present the appearance, as shown in Fig. 13. The opera- 
tions to be performed are precisely the same as in its 
third year. 

In addition, I will here remark, that in wet seasons the 
soil of the vineyard should be stirred as little as possible, 
as it will bake and clog, and in dry seasons it should 
be deeply worked and stirred, as this loose surface-soil 
will retain moisture much better than a hard surface. 
Should the vines show a decrease in vigor, they may be 
manured with ashes or compost, or still better, with 



70- 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 



surface-soil from the woods. This will serve to replenish 
the soil which may liave been washed off and is much 
more beneficial than stable manure. When the latter is 
applied, a small trench should be dug just above the vine, 
the manure laid in, and covered with soil. But an 
abundance of fresh soil, drawn up well around the vine, is 
certainly the best of all manures. 

Where a vine has failed to grow the first season, 
replant with extra strong vines, as they will find it difficult 
to catch up with the others ; or the vacancy can be filled 




Fig. 13. 



Tip the next season, l)y a layer from a neighboring vine, 
made in the following manner : Dig a trench from the 
vine to the empty place, about eight to ten inches deep, 
and bend into it one of the canes of the vine, left to 
grow unchecked for that purpose, and j^runed to the 
proper length. Let the end of it come out to the surface 
of the ground Avith one or two eyes above it, at the place 
where the vine is to be, and fill up with good, well 
pulverized earth. It vrill strike roots at almost every 
joint, and grow rapidly, but, as it takes a good deal 



CULTURE OF THE GIIAPE. 71 

of nourishment from the j^arent vine, that must be pruned 
much shorter the first year. When the layer has become 
well established, it is cut from tlie parent vhie ; generally 
the second season. 

Pruning is best done in the fall, but it can be done on 
mild days all through the winter months, even as late 
as the middle of March. Fall-pruning will prevent all 
flow of sap, and the cuttings are also better if made 
in the fall, and buried in the ground during winter. All 
the sound, well-ripened wood of last season's growth may 
be made into cuttings, which may be either planted, 
as directed in a former chapter, or sold* and are an 
accession to the product of the vineyard not to be despised, 
for they will generally defray all expenses of cultivation. 

TRAINING THE VINES ON ARBORS AND WALLS. 

This is altogether different from the treatment in vine- 
yards ; the first has for its object to grow the most perfect 
fruit, and to bring the vine, with all its parts, within the 
easy reach and control of the operator ; in the latter, our 
object is to cover a large space with foliage, for ornament 
and shade, fruit being but a secondary consideration. 
However, if the a ine is treated judiciously, it will also 
produce a large quantity of fruit, although not of as good 
quality as in the vineyard. 

Our first object must be to grow very strong plants, to 
cover a very large sj^ace. Prepare a border by digging 
a trench tAvo feet deep and four feet wide. Fill Avdth 
rich soil, decomposed leaves, burnt bones, ashes, etc. 
Into this plant the strongest plants you have, pruned 
as for A'ineyard planting. Leave but one shoot to grow 
on them during the first -summer, which, if properly 
treated, will get very strong. Cut back to three buds the 



TO 



CULTUKE OF TIIH GllAPE. 




CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 73 

coming fall. These will each throw out a strong shoot, 
which should be tied to the arbor they are designed 
to cover, as shown in figure 14, and allowed to grow un- 
checked. In the fall following cut each shoot back 
to three buds, as our first object must be to get a good 
basis for our vines. These will give us nine canes the 
third summer ; and as the vine is now thoroughly estab- 
lished and strong, we can begin to work in good earnest. 
It Avill be jierceived that the vine has three different sec- 
tions or principal branches, each with three canes. Cut 
one of these back to two eyes, aixl the other two to six 
or eight buds each, according to the strength of the vine, 
as shown in figure 15. The next spring tie these neatly 
to the trellis, and when the young shoots appear thin out 
the weakest, and leave the others to grow unchecked. 
The next fall cut back as indicated by the black cross 
lines, the weakest to be cut back to one or two eyes, and 
the stronger ones to three or four, the spurs at the 
bottom to come in as a reserve, should any of the 
branches become diseased. Figure 16 shows the manner 
of pruning. 

In this manner a vine can be made, in course of time, 
to cover a large space, and get very old. The great vine 
at Windsor Palace was planted more than sixty years 
ago, and in 1850 it produced two thousand large bunches 
of magnificent grapes. The space covered by the 
branches was one hundred and thirty-eight feet long, 
and eixteen feet wide, and it had a stem two feet nine 
inches in circumference. This is one of the largest vines 
on record. They should, however, be strongly manured 
to come to full perfection. 

Other authorities prefer the Thomery system of train- 
ing, but I think it much more complicated and difficult to 
follow. Those wishing to follow it will find full direc- 



74 



CULTURE 01<' THE GRAPE. 




CULTURE OF THE ORAPE 75 

tions in Dr. Grant's and Fuller's books, Avliicn are very- 
explicit on this method. 

OTHER METHODS OF TRAINING THE VINE. 

There are many other systems in vogue among vme- 
dressers in Germany and France, but as our native 
grapes are so much stronger in growth, and are in 
this cUmate so much more subject to mihlew and rot, I 
think these methods, upon the whole, but poorly adapted 
to the wants of our native grapes, however judicious they 
may be there. I will only mention a few of them here ; 
one because it is to a great extent followed in Mexico 
and California, and seems to suit that dry climate and arid 
soil very well ; and the other, because it will often serve 
as a pretty border to beds in gardens. The first is the 
so-called buck or stool method of training. The vine is 
made to form its head — i. e., the part from which the 
branches start — about a foot above the ground, and 
all the young shoots are allowed to grow, but summer- 
pruned or checked just beyond the last bunch of grapes. 
The next spring all of the young shoots are cut back to 
two eyes, and this system of " spurring in " is kept 
up, and the vine will in time present the appearance of a 
bush or miniature tree, producing all its fruit within 
a foot from the head, and without further support than 
its own stem. Yery old vines trained in this manner 
often have twenty to twenty-five spurs, and 2:)resent, with 
their fruit all hanging in masses around the main trunk, 
a pleasing but rather odd aspect. This method could not 
be applied here with any chance of success only to those 
varieties which are bIow growers, and at the same time 
very hardy. The Delaware would perhaps be the most 
suitable of all varieties I know for a trial of this method ; 



76 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

such Strong growers as the Concord and Norton's Vir- 
ginia could never be kept within the proper bounds, and 
it would be useless to try it on them. It might be of ad- 
vantage on poor soil, where there is at the same time a 
scarcity of timber. Figure 17 shows an old vine pruned 
after this method. 

The other method of dwarfing the grape is practiced to 
make a pretty border along walks in gardens, and is as 
follows : Plant your vines about eight feet apart ; treat 
them the first season as in common vineyard planting, but 
at the end of the first season cut back to two eyes. Now 




Fig. 17. 

provide posts, three to three and a half feet long ; drive 
them into the ground about eighteen inches to two feet, 
which can be easily done if they are pointed at one end, 
and nail a lath on top of them. This is your treUis 
for the vines, and should be about eighteen inches above 
the ground when ready. Now allov/ both shoots which 
will start from the two buds to grow unchecked ; and 
when they have grown above the trellis, tie one down to 
the right, the other to the left, allowing them to ramble 
at will along it. The next fall they are each cut back to 
the proper length, to meet the next vine, and in spring 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



77 



tied firmly to the lath, as shown in figure 18. V/'hen the 
young shoots appear, all beloAF the trellis are rubbed off, 
but all those above the trellis are summer-pruned or 




pinched immediately beyond the last bunch of grapes, as 
in vineyard culture, and the trellis, with its garland 
of fruit, will present a very pretty appearance throughout 



78 CULTURE Oh" THE GRAPB. 

the summer. In the fall all of these shoots are jJi'uned to 
one bud, from Avhich will grow the fruit-bearing shoot for 
the next season, as shown in figure 19 ; and the same 
treatment is repeated during the summer and fall, 

DISEASES OF THE VINE. 

I cannot agree with Mr. Fuller that the diseases of the 
vine are not formidable in this country. They are so for- 
midable that they threaten to destroy some varieties alto- 
gether; and the Catawba, once the glory and pride of the 
Ohio vineyards, has for the last fifteen years suftered 
so much from them, that many of the grape-growers who 
are too narrow-minded to try anything else are about 
giving up grape-growing in despair. 

It is very fortunate, therefore, that we have varieties 
which do not suffer from these diseases, or only in a very 
slight degree ; and my advice to the beginner in grape- 
culture would be, " not to plant largely of any variety 
which is subject to disease." Men may talk about sul- 
phuring, and dusting their vines with sulphur through 
bellows ; but I would rather ha^'e vines which will bear 
a good crop without these windy appliances. We can 
certainly find some varieties for everi/ locality which do 
not need them, and these we should plant. 

The mildew is our most formidable disease, a'nd will 
very often sweep away two-thirds of a crop of Catawbas 
in a few days. It generally appears here from the first to 
the fifteenth of June, after abundant rains, and damp, 
warm weather. It seems to be a parasitic fungus, and 
sulphur applied by means of a bellows, or dusted over the 
fruit and vine is said to be a partial remedy. Close and 
early summer-pruning will do much to prevent it, throw- 
ing, as it does, all the strength of the vine into the yoimg 



CULTURE OF THE GKAPE. 79 

fruit, developing it rapidly, and also allowing free circu- 
lation of air. In some ^•arieties — for instance, the Dela- 
ware — it Avill only affect the leaves, causing them, to 
blight and drop off, after which the fruit, although it may 
attain full size, will not ripen nor become sweet, but 
wither and drop off prematurely. In seasons when the 
weather is dry and the air pure, it will not appear. It is 
most prevalent in locations which have a tenacious sub- 
soil, and under-draining will very likely prove a par- 
tial preventive, as excess of moisture about the roots is 
no doubt one of its causes. 

The gray rot, or so-called grape cholera, generally fol- 
lows the mildew, and I think that the latter is the princi- 
pal cause of it, as I have generally found it on berries 
whose stems have been injured by the mildew. The 
berry first shows a sort of gray marbling; in a day 
or two it turns to a grayish-blue color, and fSially withers 
and drops from the bunch. It will continue to affect 
berries until they begin to color, but only attack a 
few varieties — the Catawba, To Kalon, Kingsessing, and 
sometimes the Diana. 

The spotted, or brown rot, wiU also attack many of our 
varieties ; it is A^ery destructive to the Isabella and 
Catawba, and even the Concord is not quite free from it. 
But it is, after all, not very destructive, and not half 
as dangerous as the mildew or gray rot. 

Early and close summer-pruning is a partial preventa- 
tive against all these diseases, as it will hasten the devel- 
opment of the fruit, allow free circulation of air, and the 
young leaves which appear on the laterals after pinching 
seem to be better able to withstand the effects of the 
mildew, often remaining fresh and green, and shading the 
fruit, when the fii'st growth of leaves have already 
dropped. 



80 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

But " an ounce of prevention is better than a i^ound of 
cure," and our best preventive is to j^lant none but 
healthy varieties. A grape, however good it may be in 
quality, is not fit for general cultivation if seriously 
affected with any of these diseases. Nothing can be 
more discouraging to tlie grape-grower than to see his 
vines one day rich in the ])romise of an abundant crop, 
and a few days afterwards see two-thirds or three-fourths 
swept away by disease. It is because I have so often felt 
this bitter disappointment, that I would warn my readers 
against planting varieties subject to them. I would save 
them from the discouragement and bitter losses Av^hich 
1 have experienced, w^hen it was out of my power to pre- 
vent it. They can prevent it, for the grape-growing of to- 
day is no longer the same uncertain occupation it was ten ' 
years ago. We of to-day have our choice of varieties not 
subject to dif^ease ; let us make it judiciously, and we may 
be sure of a paying crop every year. 

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAPE. 

The grape has many enemies of this kind, but if they 
are closely watched from the beginning their ravages are 
easily kept Avithin proper bounds. 

The common gray cut- worm will often eat the young 
tender shoots of the vine, and draw them into the ground 
beIovy^ Wherever this is perceived the rascal can easily 
be found by digging for him under some of the loose 
clods of ground below the vine, and should be destroyed 
without mercy. 

Small worms, belonging to the family of leaf-folders, 
some of them whitish gray, some bluish green, will in 
spring make their webs among the young, downy leaves 
at the end of the shoots, eating the young bunch 




Fig. 20. 
Delaware. — Berries ^ cUmnefer, 



81 



CULTURE OF THE GKAPE. 83 

or buttons, and the leaves. These can be destroyed when 
summer pruning for the first time. Look close for them, 
as they are very small ; yet very destructive if let alone. 

A small, gray beetle, of about the size and color of 
a hemp-seed, will often eat a hole into the bud, when it is 
just swelling, and thus destroy it. He is very shy, and 
will drop from the vine as soon as you come near him. 
It is a good plan to spread a newspaper under the vine, 
and then shake it, when he will drop on the paper and 
can be caught. 

Another bug, of about the size of a fly, gray, with 
round black specks, will sometimes pay us a visit. They 
will come in swarms, and eat the upper side of the leaves, 
leaving only the skeletons. They are very destructive, 
devouring every leaf, as far as they go ; they can also 
be shaken oif on a paper or sheet spread under the 
vine. 

The thrip, a small, rather three-cornered, whitish-green 
insect, has of late been very troublesome, as they eat the 
under side of tlie leaves of some varieties, especially 
the Delaware and Norton's Virginia, Avhen the leaf will 
show rusty specks on the surface, and finally drop off". 
It has been recommended to go through the vineyard 
at night, one man carrying a lighted torch, and the other 
beating the vines, when they will fly into the flame, 
and be burnt. They are a great annoyance, and have 
defoliated whole vineyards here last fall. 

Another leaf-folder makes his appearance about mid- 
summer, making its web on the leaf, drawing it together, 
and then devouring his own house. It is a small, greenish, 
and very active worm, who, if he " smells a rat," will drop 
out of his web, and descend to the ground in double-quick 
time. I know of no other plan, than to catch him and 
crush his v/eb between the finger and thumb. 



84 CULTURE OV THE GllAI>E. 

Tlie aphis, or plant louse, often covers the youn<^ 
shoots of the vine, sucking its juices. When a shoot is 
attacked by them, it will l>e best to take it off and. crusli 
them under your feet, as the shoot is apt to be sickly 
afterwards, any way. 

The graj^e vine sphynx will be found occasionally. It is 
a large, green worm, with black dots, and very voracious. 
Fortunately, it is not nmiierous, and can easily be found 
and destroyed. 

There are also several caterpillars — the yellow bear, 
the hog caterpillar, and tlie blue caterpillar, which will 
feed ujion the leaves. Tlic only remedy I know against 
them is hand picking, but they have not as yet been 
very numerous, nor very destructive. 

Wasps are sometimes very troublesome when the fruit 
ripens, stinging tlie berries and sucking the juice. A 
great many can be caught ])y hanging up bottles, with a 
little molasses, which they will enter, and get stuck in the 
molasses. 

BIRDS. 

These are sometimes very troublesome at the time 
of ripening, and especially the oriole is a " hard customer," 
as he will generally dip his bill into every berry ; often 
ruining a fine l)uncli, or a number of them, in a short time. 
I have therefore been compelled to wage a war upon some 
of the feathered tribe, although they are my especial 
favorites, and I cannot see a bird's nest robbed. How- 
ever, there are some who do not visit the vineyard, except 
for the purpose of destroying our grapes, and these can 
not complain if Ave '' won't stand it any longer," but take 
the gim, and retaliate on them. The oriole, the red bird, 
thrash, and cat bird are among the number, and altliough 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 85 

I would liko to spare the latter three, in thankful remem- 
brance of many a gratuitous concert, the first must take 
Ins chance of powder and lead, for tlie little rascal is too 
aggravating. A few dry bushes, raised above the trellis 
will serve as their resting place before they commence 
their work of destruction, where they can be easily killed. 

I'llOSTS. 



Although our winters are seldom severe enough to 
destroy the hardy varieties, yet they will often fatally 
injure such half hardy varieties as the Herbemont and 
Cunningham, and the severe winter of 1863, — '64, killed 
even the Catawba, down to the snow line, and severely 
injured the Norton's Virginia, and even the Concord. 
Fortunately, such winters occm- but rarely, and even in 
localities where the vines are often destroyed by the 
severe cold in winter, this should deter no one from grow- 
ing grapes, as, with very little extra labor he can protect 
them, and bring them safely through the winter." I 
always cover my tender varieties, in fact, all that I feel 
not quite safe to leave out, even in severe winters, in the 
following manner : The vines are properly pruned in the 
fall ; then select a somewhat rainy day, when the canes 
will bend more easily. One man goes through the rows, 
and bends the canes to the ground along the trellis, while 
another follows with the spade, and throws earth enough 
on them to hold them in their jjlaces. Afterwards, I run 
a plough through the rows, and cover them up com- 
pletely. In the spring when all danger from frost is 
over, I take a so-called spading fork, and lift the vines. 
The entire cost of covering an acre of grape vines and 
taking them up again in spring, will not exceed $10; 



86 CULTUKE OF THE GKAPE, 

surely a trifling expense, if we can thereby ensure a full 
crop. 

We have thus a protection against tlie cold in winter, 
but I know none against early frosts, in fall, and late 
spring frosts; and the grape grower should therefore 
avoid all localities where they are prevalent. The im- 
mediate neighborhood of large streams, or lakes, will gene- 
rally save the grape grower from their disastrous influence; 
and our summers, here, along the banks of the Missouri 
river, are in reality full two montiis longer than they are 
in the low, small valleys, only four to six miles off: Let 
the grape grower, in chosing a locality, look well to this, 
and avoid the hills along these narrow valleys. Either 
choose a location sufliciently elevated, to be beyond their 
influence, or, what is better still, choose it on the bluffs 
above our large streams ; where the atmosphere, even in 
the heat of summer, will never become too dry for the 
health of the vine. It is a sad spectacle to see the hopes 
of a whole summer frustrated by one cold night ; to see 
the vines which promised an abundant crop but the day 
before, browned and wilted beyond all hopes of recovery, 
and the cheerless prospect before you, that it may cccur 
every spring ; or to see the finest crop of grapes, when 
just ripening, scorched and wilted by just one night's 
frost, fit for nothing but vinegar. Therefore, look well 
to this, when you choose the site of your vineyard, and 
rather pay five times the price for a location free from 
frost, than for the I'ichest farm along the so-called creek 
bottoms, or worse still, sloughs of stagnant water. 

GIRDLING THE VINE TO HASTEN MATURITY. 

The jjractice of girdling to induce early ripening is 
supposed to have been invented by Col. Buciiatt, of 




Fig. 21. 



^ioRTON's Virginia. — Berries ^ diameter. 



CULTURE OF THE GllAPE. 89 

Metz, in 1745. He claimed for it that it would also 
greatly improve the quality of the fruit, as well as hasten 
maturity. That it accomplishes the latter, cannot he 
denied ; it also seems to increase the size of the berries, 
but I hardly think the fruit can compare in flavor witli a 
well developed bunch, ripened in the natural way. As it 
may be of practical value to those wlio grow grapes for 
the market, enabling them to supply their customers a 
week earlier at least, and also make the fruit look better, 
and be of interest to the amateur cultivator, I will describe 
the operation for their benefit. 

It can be j^erformed either on wood of the same season's 
growth, or on that of last year, but in any case only upon 
such as can be pruned away the next fall. If you desire 
to affect the fruit of a wliole arm or cane, cut away a ring 
of bark by passing your knife all around it, and making 
another incision from a quarter to half an inch above the 
first, taking out the intermediate piece of bark clean, down 
to the w^ood. It should be performed immediately after 
the fruit is set. The bunches of fruit above the incision 
will become larger, and the fruit ripen and color finely, 
from a week to ten days before the fruit on the other 
canes. Of course, the cane thus girdled, cannot be used 
for the next season, and must be cut away entirely. The 
result seems to be the consequence of an obstruction to 
the downward flow of the sap, which then develops the 
fruit much faster. 

Kipening can also be hastened by planting against the 
south side of a wall or board fence, when the reflection 
of the rays of the sun will create a greater degree of 
warmth. 

But nothing can be so absurd and unnatural than the 
practice of some, who will take away the leaves from tlie 
fruit, to hasten its ripening. The leaves are the lungs of 



90 CULTURE OP TUB GRAPE. 

the plants : the conductors and elevators of sap ; and 
nothing can be more hijurious than to take them away 
from the fruit at the very time when they are most 
needed. The consequence of such an unwise course will 
be the wilting and withering of the bunches, and, should 
they ripen at all, they will be deficient in flavor. Good 
fruit must ripen in the shade^ only thus will it attam its full 
perfection. 

Another practice very injurious to the vines is still in 
practice in some vineyards, and cannot be too strongly 
condemned. It is the so-called " cutting in" of the young 
growth in August. Those who practice it, seem to labor 
under the misapprehension that the young canes, after 
they have reached the top of the trellis, and are of the 
proper length and strength for their next year's crop, do 
not need that part of the young growth beyond these 
limits any more, and that all the surplus growth is " of 
evil." Under the influence of this idea they arm them- 
selves with a villainous looking thing called a bill-hook, 
and cut and slash away at the young growth unmerci- 
fully, taking away one-half of the leaves and young wood 
at one fell swoop. The coijsequence is a stagnation of 
sap ; the wood they have left, cannot, and ought not to 
ripen perfectly, and if anything like a cold winter follows, 
the vines will either be killed entirely, or very much in- 
jured at least. The intelligent vine dresser will tie his 
young canes, away from the bearing wood as much as he 
can, to crive the fruit the fullest ventilation; but when 
they have reached the top of the trellis, tie them along it 
and let them ramble as they please. They will thus form 
a natural roof over the fruit, keeep ofl" all injurious dews, 
and shade the grapes from above. There is nothing 
more pleasing to the eye than a vineyard in September, 
with its wealth of dark green foliage above, and its purple 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 91 

clusters of fruit beueath, coyly peeping from under their 
leafy covering. Such grapes will have an exquisite bloom, 
and color, as well as thin skin and rich flavor, which those 
hanging in the scorching rays of the sun can never attain. 

MANURING THE VINE, 

As remarked before, this will seldom be necessary, if 
the vintner is careful enough to guard against washing 
of the top-soil, and to turn under all leaves, etc., with 
the j)low in the Fall. The best manure is undoubtedly 
fresh surface soil from the woods. Should the vines, 
however, show a material decrease in vigor, it may be- 
come necessary to use a top-dressing of decomposed 
leaves, ashes, bone-dust, charcoal, etc. Fresh stable-yard 
manure I would consider the last, and only to be used 
when nothino; better can be obtained. Turn under with 
the plow, as soon as the manure is spread. Nothing, I 
think, is more injurious than the continual drenching with 
slops, dish-water, etc., which some good souls of house- 
wives are fond of bestowing on their pet grape vines in 
the garden. It creates a rank, unwholesome growth, and 
will cause mildew and rot, if anything can. 

THINNING OF THE FRUIT. 

This will sometimes be necessary, to more fully develop 
the bunches. The best thinning is the reduction of the 
number of bunches at the time of the first summer prun- 
ing. If a vine shows more fruit, than the vine dresser 
thinks it can well ripen, take away all weak and imperfect 
shoots, and also all the small and imperfect bunches. If 
the number of bunches on the fruit bearing branches is 
reduced to two on each, it will be no injury, but make 



92 CULTURE Ob' THE GRAPE. 

the remaining nuniber of bunches so much more perfect. 
Thinning out the berries on the bunches, although it will 
serve to make the remaining berries more perfect and 
larger, is still a very laborious process, and will hardly be 
followed to any extent in vineyards, although it can Avell 
be practised on the few pet vines of the amateur, and 
will certainly heighten the beauty of the bunches and 
berries. 

RENEWING OLD VINES. 

Should a vine become old and feeble, it can be renewed 
by layering. The vine is prepared in the following man- 
ner : Prune all the old wood away, leaving but one of 
the most vigorous of your canes ; then dig a trench from 
the vine along the trellis, say three feet long, eight inches 
deep ; into this bend down the old vine, stump, head and 
all, fastening it down with a strong hook, if necessary, 
letting the end of the young cane come out about three 
eyes above the ground, and fill up with rich, well pulver- 
ized soil. The vine will make new roots at every joint, 
and become vigorous, and, so to say, young, again. Some 
recommend this process for young vines, the first year 
after planting ; but if good plants have been chosen and 
planted, it will not be necessary. Feeble and poor plants 
may need this process, but if plants have good strong 
roots when planted, (and o?ilt/ such should be planted 
when they can be obtained), they will not be benefited 
by it. 

A FEW NECESSARY IMPROVEMENTS. 

Pruning Shears. These are very handy, and with them 
the work can be done quicker, and with less labor, as but 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 



93 



a slight pressure of the hand will cut a strong vine. Fig. 
22 will show the shape of one for heavy pruning. They 
are made by J. T. Henry, Hampden, Connecticut, and 
can be had in almost all hardware stores. The springs 
should be of brass, as steel springs are very apt to break. 
A much lighter and smaller kind, with but one spring, is 
very convenient for gathering grapes, as it will cut the 
stem easily and smoothly, and not shake the vine, as cut- 
ting vv^itli the knife will do. They are also handy to clip 




Fig. 22 



out unripe and rotten berries, and should be generally 
used instead of knives. 

Fruning Saws. It will sometimes be necessary to use 
these, to cut out old stiunps, etc., although, if a vine is 
well managed, it will seldom be necessary. Fig. 23 will 
show a kind which is very convenient for the purpose, 
and will also serve for orchard pruning; the blade is 
narrow, connected with the handle, and can be tiu-ued in 
any direction. 



94 



CULTURE OP TUB GRAPE. 



GATHERING THE FRUIT FOR MARKET. 

In this, the vmeyardist, of course, only aims at profit, 
and for that purpose the grapes are often gathered when 
they are hardly colored — long before they are really ripe — 
because the public will generally l)uy them at a high price. 
Let us hope, however, that better taste will in time pre- 
vail, and that even a majority of the public will learn to 
appreciate the diiference between ripe and unripe fruit. 
I would advise my readers at least to wait until the fruit 
is fully and evenly colored ; for it is our duty to do all 




Fig. 23. 



we can to correct this vicious leaning towards swallowing 
unripe fruit, which is so prevalent in this nation, and the 
producer will not lose anything either, because his fruit 
will look much better, it will therefore bring the same 
price which half ripened fruit would have brought, even 
a week sooner, and will weigh heavier. Every grape will 
generally color full two weeks before it is fully ripe; 
and as they are one of the fruits that will not lipen after 



V CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 95 

they are gathered, tliey will shrivel and hiok indifferent 
if gathered before. 

To .shi}) them to market any distance, they shouhi be 
packed in low, shallow boxes, say six inches high, so that 
they will hold about two layers of grapes. Cut the 
branches carefully, with as long a stem as possible, for 
more convenient handling, taking care to preserve all the 
bloom, and clipping out all the unripe berries. They are 
generally weighed in the basket before packing. Now 
put a layer of vine leaves on the bottom of the box ; then 
make a layer of grapes, laying them as close as possible ; 
then put a layer of leaves over them ; on them put another 
layer of grapes, tilling up evenly; then spread leaves 
rather thickly over them, and nail on the cover. The box 
should 1)6 perforated with holes, to admit some air. The 
grapes must be perfectly dry when gathered, and the box 
should be well tilled to prevent shaking and bruising. 

PRESERVING THE FRUIT. 

For this purpose, the fruit must be thoroughly ripe. 
When fully ripe, the stem will turn brown, and shrivel 
somewhat. Tlie fruit is then carefully gathere<l, and laid 
upon a dry floor, or shelves, for a day or two, so that 
some of the moisture will evaj^orate. They can then be 
packed in boxes, in about the same manner as described 
before, but paper Avill be better than leaves for this pur- 
pose. They are then put away on shelves, in an airy room, 
which must, however, be free from frost, in an even tem 
perature of from S0° to 40.° They should be examined, 
from time to time, and the decayed berries taken out. 
They may thus be kej^t for several months. 



96 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

« 

GATHERING THE FRUIT TO MAKE WINE. 

For this pm-pose, the grapes should hang as long as it 
is safe to allow them; for it will make a very material 
difference in the quality of the wine, as the water will 
evaporate, and only the sugar remain; and the flavor 
or the bouquet will only be fully developed in fully 
rijoened fruit. For gathering, use clean tin or wooden 
pails ; cut the stems as short as possible, and clip or pinch 
out all unripe or rotten berries, leaving none but fully 
ripe berries on the bunch. The further process AVill be 
described under " wine making." 



VARIETIES or GRAPES. 



I would here, again remark, that I consider the question 
of " what to plant'' as chiefly a local one, for which I do 
not presume to lay down fixed rules ; hut which every 
one must, to a certain extent, determine for himself, by 
visiting vineyards as nearly similar in soil and location to 
the one he intends to plant, and then closely observing 
the habits of the varieties after planting. Only thus can 
we obtain certain results; not by following blindly in the 
footsteps of so-called authorities, who may live a hundred, 
or a thousand miles from us, and whose success with cer- 
tain varieties, on soil entirely difterent from ours, under 
different atmospheric influences, can by no means be taken 
by us as evidence of our success under other circumstances. 

Class 1. — Varieties most generally used. 

CONCORD. 

* Originated with Mr. E. Bull, of Concord, Mass. This 
variety seems to be the choice of the majority through- 
out the country, and however much opinions may differ 
about its quality, nobody seems to question its hardiness, 
productiveness, health and value as a market fruit. 
Here it is of very good quality — and our Eastern 
brethren have no idea what a really well ripened Missouri 
grown Concord grape is. It seems to become better the 

97 



98 CULTURE OF THE GllAPE. 

further it is grown West and Soutli; an observation which 
I think applies with equal force to the Hartford Prolific, 
Norton's Virginia, Ilerbemont and others. 

Bunch large, heavy sliouldered — somewhat compact; 
berries large, round, black, with blue bloom ; buttery, 
sweet and rich here, when well ripened ; with very thin 
skin and tender pulp. A strong and vigorous grower; 
with healthy, hardy foliage; free from mildew, and but 
slightly subject to rot ; succeeds well in almost any soil ; 
and is, so far, the most profitable grape we grow. A line 
market fruit, and also makes a line, light red wine, which 
is generally preferred to the Catawba. Can be easily 
grown from cuttings. 

Norton's Virginia, (Norton's seedling, Virginia seedling). 

Originated by Dr. N. Norton, of Richmond, Virginia. 
This grape has opened a new era in American grape 
culture, and every successive year but adds to its reputa- 
tion. While the wine of the Catawba is often compared 
to Hock, in the wine of Norton's Virginia, we have one 
of an entirely different character ; and it is a conceded 
fact that the best red wines of Europe are surpassed by 
the Norton as an astringent, dark red wine, of great body, 
fine flavor, and superior medical quality. Vine vigorous 
and hardy, productive; starting a week later in the Spring 
than the Catawba, yet coloring a week sooner ; and will 
succeed in almost any soil, although producing the richest 
wine in Avarm, southern aspects. Bunches medium, com- 
pact; berries small, black, sweet and rich; with dark 
bluish red juice ; only moderately juicy. Ilealtliy in all 
locations, as far as I know, but I doubt its utility in the 
East, as I do not think the summers warm and long 




Fi«. 24. 
Herbemont. — Berries ^ diameter, 



99 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 101 

enough. Seems to attain its greatest perfection in Mis- 
souri, but is universally esteemed in the West. Very 
difficult to propagate, as it will hardly grow from cuttings 
in open air. 

HERBEMONT (hERBEMONT MADEIRA, WARREN). 

Origin uncertain. Wherever this noble grape will suc- 
ceed and fully ripen, it is hard to find a better, for table, 
as well as for wine. Its home seems to be the South ; 
and I think it will become one of the leading varieties, as 
soon as the new order of things has been fully established, 
and free, intelligent labor has taken the place of the 
drudging, dull toil of the slave. It is particularly fond 
of warm, southern exposures, Avith light limestone soil, 
and it would be useless to plant it on soil retentive of 
moisture. Bunch long, large shouldered and compact; 
berry medium, black, with, blue bloom — "bags of wine," 
as Downing fitly calls them; skin thin, sweet flesh, without 
pulp, juicy and high flavored, never clogs the palate; 
fine for the table, and makes an excellent wine, which 
should be pressed immediately after mashing the grapes, 
when it will be white, and of an exquisite flavor; generally 
ripens about same time as Catawba. A very vigorous 
and healthy grower, but tender in rich soils, and stiould 
be protected in winter. Extremely productive. 

HARTFORD PROLIFIC. 

Raised by Mr. Steel, of Hartford, Conn. : hardy, 
vigorous and productive; bunch large, shouldered, rather 
compact; berry full medium, globular, with a perceptible 
foxy flavor ; skin thick, black, covered with blue bloom; 
flesh sweet, juicy; much better here than at the East ; of 



102 CULTURE OF THE CRAPE. 

very fair quality for its time of ripening; hangs well to 
the bunch here, although said to drop at the East. For 
market, this is perhaps as i)i-ofital)le as any variety known, 
as it ripens very early and uniformly, producing immense 
crops. I have made wine from it, which, although not of 
very high character, yet ranks as fair. 

CLINTON. 

Origin uncertain; f?-om Western New York; vigorous, 
hardy and productive ; free from disease ; bunch medium, 
long and narrow, generally shouldered, compact; berry 
medium, roundish oblong, blacky covered with bloom; 
juicy ; somewhat acid ; colors early, but should hang late 
to become thoroughly ripe ; brisk vinous flavor, but some- 
what of the aroma of the frost grape ; makes a dark red 
wine, of good body, and much resembling claret, but not 
equal to Norton's Virginia, or even the Concord, in my 
estimation. Although safe and reliable, I think it has 
lately been over praised as a wine grape , and as it is a 
very long, straggling grower, it is one of the hardest 
vines to keej) under control. Propagates with the 
greatest ease. 

DELAWARE. 

First disseminated and made known to the public by 
Mr. A. Tiio.Mi>soN, of Delaware, Ohio. This is cl.iimed by 
many to be the best American grape; and although I am 
inclined to doubt this, and prefer, for my taste, a well 
ripened Herbemont, it is certainly a very fine fruit. 
Unfortunately, it is very particular in its choice of soil 
and location, and it seems as if there are very few 
locations at the West where it will succeed. Whoever 



CULTURE OF TUB GRAPE. 103 

has a location, however, where it will grow vigorously 
and hold its leaves, will do well to plant it almost exclu- 
sively, as it makes a wine of very high character, and is 
very productive. A light, warm soil seems to be the first 
requisite, and the bluffs on ihc north side of the Missouri 
river seem to be peculiarly adapted to it, while it will not 
flourish on those on the south side. Bunch small, com- 
pact, and generally shouldei-ed , berry below medium, 
round ; skin thin, of a beautifid flesh-color, covered with 
a lilac bloom; very translucent; pulp sweet and tender, 
vinous and delicious; wood very firm; short-jointed; 
somewhat difficult to propagate, though not so much so 
as Norton's Virginia. Subject in many locations, to leaf- 
blight, and is there a very slow grower. Fine for the table, 
and makes an excellent white wine, equal to, if not superior, 
to the best Rhenish wines, which sells readily at from five 
to six dollars per gallon. Although I cannot recommend 
it for general cultivation, it should be tried every where, 
and planted extensively where it will succeed. Ripens 
about five days later than Hartford Prolific. 



Class 2. — Healthy varieties promising well. 

CYNTUIANA (rED RIVER). 

Origin unknown — said to come from Arkansas. This 
grape promises fair to become a dangerous rival to 
Norton's Virginia, which variety it resembles so closely 
in wood and foliage, that it is difficult if not impossible 
to distinguish it from that variety. The bunch and 



104 CULTUJIK OK THE OKAPE. 

berry firo of the R.ame color as Norton's Virginia, but 
HOinewliat larger, and more juicy; sweeter, witli not quite 
as niueli astringeney, and perhaps a few days earlier. 
Makes an excellent dark red wine, with not as much 
astringeney, but even more dfflicate aroma, and was pro- 
nounced the " best red wine on exhibition," at the last 
meetmg of the State Horticultural Society, where it was 
in com])etition with eight samj)les of the Norton's Virginia. 
A strong grower, and ])roductive ; as difficult to propagate 
as the Nortcm. Mr. Fullkr evidently has not the true 
variety, when he c^lls it worthless, and identical with the 
Chippewa and Missouri, from both of Avhich it is entirely 
distinct. 

ARKANSAS. 

Closely resembles the foregoing, and will also make an 
excellent wine of a similar character. I consider both of 
these varieties as great acquisitions, as they are perfectly 
healthy, very productive, and will make a wine unsurpassed 
in merit l)y any of their class. 

TAYJ.OR (iJULLITT.) 

This grape, under i)roper trc^atment, lias proved very 
productive with me, and will make a wine of very high 
cpiality. The bunches and beiries are small, it is true; 
but not much more so than tlie Delaware ; it also sets its 
fruit well, and as it is hardy, healthy, and a strong grower, 
it promises to be one of our leading wine grapes. Bunches 
small, but compact, shouldered ; berry small ; white at the 
Kast; pale Hesh-color here; round, sweet, and without 
pulp ; skin very thin. ]{e(|uires long pruning on spurs, 
to bring out its Iruitfulness. 




Fio. 25. 
Hartford Prolific. — Berries ^ diameter. 



105 



CULTURE OP TUB GRAPE, 107 

MARTHA. 

This new grape, grown from the seed of the Concord, by 
that enthusiastic and warm-hearted horticultm-ist, Samuel 
Miller, of Lebanon, Pa., promises to be one of the greatest 
acquisitions to our list of really hardy and good grapes, 
which have lately come before the public. It has fruited 
with me the last extremely unfavorable season, and 
has stood the hardest test any grape could be put to, 
without flinching. Bunch medium, but compact and 
heavy, shouldered; berry pale yellow, covered with a 
white bloom; perhaps a trifle smaller than the Concord; 
round ; piflpy, but sweet as honey, with only enough of 
the foxy aroma to give it character ; juicy — very good. I 
esteem it more highly than any other white grape I have, 
as it has the healthy habit and vigorous growth of its 
parent, and promises to make an excellent white wine. 
Hangs to the bunch well, and will ripen some days before 
the Concord. 

MAXATAWNEY. 

Another very promising white grape — a strong grower, 
and healthy ; may be somewhat too late in the east, but 
will, I think, be valuable at the West and South. Bunch 
medium to large — not shouldered; berry above medium ; 
oval ; pale yellow, with a slight amber tint on one side ; 
pulp tender, sweet and sprightly ; few seeds ; fine aroma ; 
quality, best. Ripens about same time as Catawba ; seems 
to be productive. 

ROGERS' HYBRID, NO. 1. 

This variety, which is also too late in ripening for the 
East, to be much esteemed there, fruited with me last 



108 CULTURE OF TUE GilAPE. 

season, and more than fulfilled all the expectations I 
entertained of it. It is tiic best of Mii. Rogeiis' Hybrids, 
which I have yet tasted ; and its productiveness, healthy 
habit, large berry, and good quality, makes it one of the 
most desirable of all the grapes vv^e raise here, for the 
table and market. Eunch medium, loose, shouldered ; 
berry very large, oblong, pale flesh-color ; skin thin ; ipulp 
tender ; few seeds, separatmg freely from the })nlp ; svveet, 
vinous and juicy ; quality very good. Ripens about same 
time as Catawba. It is to ])e regretted that Mr. Rogers 
has not named some of the best of his hybrids, as the 
numbers give rise to many mistakes, and a gi'cat deal of 
confusion. It would be m the interest of grape-growing 
if this was avoided, by naming at least the best of them. 

CREVELING, (cATAWISSa) (bLOO^i). 

This grape, althougli not quite perhaps so early as 
has been claimed for it — ripening about five days after 
Hartford Prolific — is yet of much better quality; and if it 
only should prove productive enough, will no doid)t make 
an excellent wine. Bunch long, loose, shouldered ; berry 
full medium, black, round, with little bloom ; pulp tender ; 
dark juice, sweet and very good — seems to be hardy and 
healthy. 

NORTH CAROLINA SEEDLING. 

Bunch large, shouldered, compact ; berry large, oblong, 
black, with blue bloom; pulpy, but sweet and good; 
ripens only a few days after Hartford Prolific — very pro- 
ductive, hardy and healthy; strong grower. One of the 
most showy market grapes we have — not much smaller 
than Union Village — and as it ripens evenly, and is of 



CULTURE OF TIIK GRAPE. 109 

very fair quality, is quite a Divorite in the market. Makes 
also a wine of very fair quality. 

CUNNINGHAM. 

For the West, and very likely further South, this is a very 
desirable grape for wine, of the Herbemont class. Bunch 
compact and heavy, sometimes shouldered ; berry rather 
small, black, without pulp, juicy sweet and good ; pro- 
ductive, but somewhat tender; strong grower ; should be 
covered in Winter ; makes a very delicious wine, of the 
Madeira class, which very often remains sweet for a whole 
year. Ripens late, about a week after the Catawba. 

RULANDER. 

Mr. Fuller evidently does not know this grape, as he 
says it is the same as Logan. The Rulander we have 
here, is claimed to be a true foreign variety. I am in- 
clined to think, however, that it is either a seedling from 
foreign seed, raised in the country, or one of the Southern 
grapes of the Herbemont class. Be this as it may how- 
ever, it certainly bears no resemblance to the Logan, 
which is a true Fox, of the Labrusca family. Vine a 
strong, vigorous, short-jointed grower, with heart-shaped, 
hght green, smooth leaves ; very healthy, and more hardy 
than either the Herbemont or Cunningham. Bunch rather 
small, very compact, shouldered ; berry small, black, with- 
out pulp, juicy sweet and delicious ; not subject to rot or 
mildew : makes a delicious, high flavored Avine, but not a 
greatdeal of it. The wine of this variety is certainly one 
oi the most dehcate and valuable ones we have yet made 
here and on the soil around Hermann, it will, I think, 
take preference over the Delaware. Ripens a few days 
later than Concord. 



110 CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 

LOUISIANA (bURGUNDER). 

Introduced hero by Mr. F. Muencii, who received it 
from Mr. Tiieard, of Louisiana, where it has been cul- 
tivated for some time. Some claim that it is the grape 
which makes the famous white Burgundy wine of Europe. 
I am inclined to think it is also a native, grown from 
foreign seed, like the foregoing, which it closely re- 
sembles in foliage and wood ; but will, I think, make a 
wine of still higher quality, perhaps the most delicate 
white wine we yet have. It can hardly be distinguished 
from the Rulander in aj^pearance, but has a more sprightly 
flavor. Ripens at the same time. 

ALVEY (iIAGAR). 

This nice little grape will certainly make one of the 
most delicious red wines we have, if it can only be raised 
in suflicient quantity. It is healthy and moderately pro- 
ductive, but a slow groAver. Bunch loose, small, shoul- 
dered; berry small, black, without pulp, juiey, sweet and 
delicious ; quality best. Ripens about the same time as 
the Concord. 

CASSADY. 

Bunch medium, very compact, shouldered ; berry me 
dium, round, greenish- white, covered with white bloom; 
thick skin, pulpy, but very sweet, and of fine flavor ; makes 
an excellent white wine ; very productive, but somewhat 
subject to leaf-blight in wet seasons; does not rot or 
mildew. 




Fig. 26. 



Concord. — Berrief< h diameter.. 



Ill 



OlII/niRK i)V TIIK (iRAI'M, I 1 1} 



Kl.OOl) S ItLAOK. 



IT.'iH oflcii been <'(»ti(()iiii(l('(| willi M:i,ry Ann, iis holli 
v.'iri('li(iH Avcrci <liHN('niin:i,l,('(l \nwo,^ by (liU'cwcMil, jxii'HonM, 
inidcr tJui Hunni ii.'unc. 'V\\o. line. lilood'w IJI.'urk is a low (l;iy:! 
ljit(M' lli.wi I liirl lord I'loIiHc, ; hinK^li lit^'ivy und (ronipjicl, 
Kli<)nld('i('(| ; Ix'iry loinid, M.-ick, lull incidiuni, ol' vciy liiir 
(ju.'ility, .'uid ;in ("vccllcnj, c.-u ly nmikct, |^r.'i])0. Tlio vin<i 
in liojdlJiy, li;irdy, :ind cnornioiisly pioduclivt^ 



UNION VILLA(JK. 

]*(!rh:ipM lli(j Jur^csly n:iliv(! ;^raj)(', of liiir <]ualily ; biUK^Ii 
lar^c!, liciivy and (roni|)a<it, nliouldorcd; biii-ry v(!iy l:ir^<^ 
ov.'il, black, widi blue bloom, |>iil|iy, bul Jnicy, hwccI, :uid 
gocxl. Ot bell(M- <|ii:ilit,y Iumcj tJiiui iHabt^lla; ioI('ral)Iy 
i'rvw from dis(!aH(^, and a s))l('ndid market and tablo IVult 
RipciiH jallicr lalo. 



PKKKIN.S. 

For tliORO wlio (b) not object U) a good d(!al of i'oxy 
flavor, tli'iH vvi'l be a v:ibi:ibl(^ m;i,rket grapes, on a('(-,omil, of 
itH <iai'lin(^HH, beautiful (t(;Ior, and groat prcxhictiveiKfHH* 
Mr. I^'iillkr lias ev'nhuitly not tiuj tnio variety, as lui d(iH- 
cribcH it aH a " bkaek gi'.'ijje, houi- and worthlewH." 

Hnneh medinni, <*,om|)a(!t, Hboublcired; berry lull m(i- 
dimn, oval, Hesiicolor, uitb a l)(\'iuti(ul Jikie bloom; 
very K\v(!et, |)iil|)y and i'oxy. Uipens at sanjo time v\ ilii 
irartCord Prolilie. Vine a Htrong grower, be;iltliy and 
hardy. 



114 CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 

CLARA. 

For family use, there is at present no grape here at the 
West, which is superior to this in quality ; and although 
it will not pay to plant largely, either for market or -wine, 
yet no one who can appi^ciate a really good grape, should 
be without a few vines of it at least. 

Bunch long, rather loose, shouldered ; berry medium, 
pale yellow, translucent,^ without pulp, sweet, juicy, and 
of excellent flavor; vine moderately productive and 
healthy. Rij^ens with Catawba. 

IVKS' SEEDLING, (iVES' MADEIRA). 

r 

This variety is recommended so much lately, as a supe- 
rior grape for red wine, that I will mention it here, although 
I have not yet fruited it. It was first introduced by Col. 
Waring, of Hamilton County, Ohio, and is said to be free 
from rot, healthy and Adgorous, and to make an excellent 
red wine, the must having sold from the press at 14 to 15 
per gallon. The following description is from bunches 
sent me from Ohio last fall : 

Bunch medium, compact, shouldered; berry rather 
below medium, black, oblong, juicy, sweet and well 
flavored; ripens about the time of the Concord. Vine 
vigorous and healthy ; said to propagate with the greatest 
ease ; evidently belonging to the Labrusca species. 

We have a seedling here of the Norton's Virginia, 
raised by Mr. F. Langendorfer, of this neighborhood, 
which promises to be a valuable wine grape for this 
location. It has not yet been named, and the owner says 
will never receive a name, unless it proves, in some re- 
spect, superior to anything we have yet. He has fruited 
it twice, and made wine from it the last season, which is 



CULTURE OP THE GRAPE. 115 

of a very high character, resembling Madeira, of a brown- 
ish-yellow color; splendid flavor, and of great body. 
The vine is a strong grower, healthy and very productive; 
bunch long, seldom shouldered, very compact; berry 
small, black, with blue bloom; only moderately juicy, 
and rijjens a week later than its parent. I am inclined 
to think that it will be of great value here and further 
south as a wine grape, although it would ripen too late 
to suit the cUmate further north; 

It may be expected here that I should speak of the 
lona, Israella, and Adirondac, as many, and good author- 
ities too, think they will be very valuable. The Zona 
and Israella have fruited but once with me, last summer, 
and my experience, therefore, has not been long enough 
to warrant a decided opinion. As far as it goes, how- 
ever, it has been decidedly unfavorable. My lona vine 
set about twenty fine bunches, but mildewed and rotted 
so badly, that I hardly saved as many berries. It may 
improve in time, but I hardly think it will do for our soil ; 
whatever it may do for others — and I cannot put it down 
as " promising well." It is a grape of fine quality, where it 
will succeed. The Israella stood the climate and bad weather 
bravely, but ripened at least five days later than the Hart- 
ford Prolific close by, and was not as good in quality as 
that grape ; in fact, the most insipid and tasteless grape 
I ever tried. They may both miprove, however, upon 
closer acquamtance, or be better in other locations. Here, 
I do not feel warranted in praismg them, and a description 
will hardly be needed, as their originator has taken good 
care to so fully bring their merits, real or imaginary, be- 
fore the grape-growing community, that it would be 
suj^erflous for me to describe them. 

The Adirondac I saw and much admired at the East, 
in 1863; and if its originator, Mr. Bailey, had only been 



IIG CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

liberal enough to furnisli me with n scion of two eyes, for 
which I oifered to p;iy him at the rate of a dollar per eye, 
I woidd, peiiiaps, be able to re2)ort about it. Instead of 
the scion, he sent me a dried up vine, which had no life 
in it when I received it, and., m consequence of these dis- 
advantages, I have not been able to fruit it yet. It seems to 
be healthy and vigorous, however; and should the quality 
of the fruit be the same as at the East, may be a valuable 
acquisition. » 

On this list I ha^e only mentioned those which have 
fruited liere from four to five years, with very few excej)- 
tions, and which ha^o generally, during that time, proved 
successful. To fully Avarrant the recommendation of a 
grape for general cultivation I think, we should have 
fruited it at least five or six years; and although there 
are many on this list which I should not hesitate to plant 
largely, yet I have preferred to be rather a little over 
cautious than too sanguine. 



Class 3. — Healthj varieties, hut inferior in quality. 

MINOR SEEDLING, (VENANGO). 

This grape has attracted some attention lately — some 
persons claiming for it superior qualities as a wine grape, 
even classing it with the Delaware ; a statement which 1 
cannot believe. It is a rank Fox, and I can therefore 
hardly think it Avill make a wine to suit a fastidious 
palate. 

Bunch medium, very compact, sometimes shouldered ; 
berry full medium, pale red, round, sweet, but very pulpy 
and foxy, liipens later than Catawba ; is very productive, 
vigorous and healthy — not subject to rot. 




Fig. 27. 
Creveling. — Berries ^ diameter. 



117 



CULTURE OF THE GKAPE. 119 

MARY ANN. 

Tlio earliest grape we have — healthy, hardy and pro- 
ductive — but in point of (juality, a rather poor Isabella, 
which it much resembles. 

Bunch full medium, moderately compact, shouldered; 
berry medium, oval, black, pul2)y, with a good deal of 
acidity, and strong flavor. Ripens about four to five 
days before the Hartford Prolific, but is much inferior to 
that variety in quality. 

NORTHERN MUSCADINE. 

Very productive and healthy, but too foxy, and liable 
to drop from the bunch when ripe. 

Bunch medium, compact, sometimes shouldered ; berry 
round, brown, sweet, very foxy — pulpy. Ripens about 
five days later than Hartford Prolific. 

LOGAN. 

Ripens about same time with Hartford Prolific — but 
rather inferior in quality. Bunch long, loose, shouldered; 
berry medium, oval ; resembling Isabella. 

BROWN. 

Resembling Isabella, but more free from disease ; good 
grower and productive ; will suit those who like the 
Isabella. 

HYDE's ELIZA, (candy's AUGUST). 

Bunch medium, compact ; berry medium, round, black, 
juicy; rather pleasant, but unproductive, and of little 
value, vvh'ere better varieties can be had. 



120 CULTURE OF THE GUAPE. 

MARION PORT. 

RcHcmblcH the foregoing ; may, perhap.s, make a Ijelter 
wine, but eaimot be rc(5ommended. 

I'OKHOlIKl/.S MAMMOTH. 

Grown haw, iVoni scumI of \]\i\ Mammoth Catawba, by 

Mr. MlCIIAKL PoESClIKL. 

I>iin('li medium, e()m))a(!t, Kometimes Khouldered ; l^^rry 
v(!ry large, round, pale red, J>ulpy; rather detieient in 
flavor, l)ut very large; free from diseaHe. Ripenn a week 
later than CJatawba. 

(!A1'K (aLKXANDKI;, SCHUYLKILL MUSCADELL). 

Btmeli ratlu'r Kinall, compact; berry mc^dium, black, 
round, l>ulj)y, rather sweet, dark juice. Said to make a 
good j-ed wine, but my experience lias not been favorable. 
Kipens late — a week after the Catawba. 

DRACUT AMRER. 

A Fox Gra]K^, pah; red, pulpy, inferior in quality and 
color to Perkins, which it closely I'esembles; ripens about 
same time. 

ELSINBUROn, (MISSOURI HIRD's EYE). 

This ohl variety was largely disseminated under the 
latter name, by Nkmiolas Longwortu, of Cincinnati. It 
is a nice little graj)e ; but too unproductive to be of any 
vnhie heie, although it nuikes a very superior wine. 
Hunch long and loo.se, shouldered; ))erry small, round, 
l)lack, moderately juicy, with little i)ulp, sweet and good, 
liipi lis a week before the; C^atawba. 



CULTURR OF TFIR OflAI'R. 121 



A grape of very fjiir quality, and rather early, })ut a 
shy hearer. Bunch small, rather loose; berry medium, 
pale yellow, sweet and good. 

FRANKLIN. 

A strong grower; said to he very productive; resem- 
bling Clinton in foliage and general habit. Bunch small, 
compact ; berry below medium, black, juicy, with a marked 
frost grape flavor, and hardly worthy of cultivation. 

LENOIR. 

Of the Ilerbemont class, but about a week earlier ; of 
good quality, but too unproductive to l)e recommended, 
launch medium, compact, shouldered ; berry small, round, 
black, sweet and good. 

NORTH AMERICA. 

Early and hardy, but too unproductive, and bunch too 
small. Bunch small^ shouldered ; berry round ; of very 
good quality for its season ; black, juicy. Kipens as early 
as Hartford Prolific. 



Class 4. — Varieties of good quality, hut subject to disease. 



CATAWBA. 



This well known grape was brought into notice by 
Major Adlum, of Georgetown, D. C, who thought he had, 
by its introduction, conferred a greater boon upon the 



122 CULTURE OF TIIK GKAI'B. 

American people, than if he had paid the national deht. 
For the last ton yeaiH, it has Ixien so much subject to dis- 
ease, that it cannot l)e recommended any longer, except 
for some peculiar locations. It is said to be healthy in 
northern Illinois and Iowa, where it will not stand the 
winter, however, without protection. 

Hunch large, moderately compact, shouldered ; berry 
medium, red, covered with lihic bloom ; juicy, pulpy, sweet, 
somewhat astringent, of good flavor. A fair grape for 
the table, and makes a good wine, resembling Hock, but 
subject to mildew, rot and leaf-blight. 



DIANA. 

A seedling of the foregoing, raised by Mrs. Diana 
Crkiiork. J^erhaps one of the most variable of all the 
graj)es, being very line one season, and very indifferent 
the next. Bunch large and long, compact, shouldered ; 
berry pale red, round, somewhat pulf)y ; thick skin ; juicy 
and sweet, with a peculiar flavor, which Dr. Warder very 
aptly calls " feUne ; " others call it " delicate." Very 
productive, but subject to leaf-blight, mildew and rot; 
although jKu-haps not so much as the Catawba. Ripens 
about a week earlier. 

ISABELLA. 

Unworthy of cultivation hero, but said to be better at 
the Noith. Bunch long, loose, shouldered; bei-ry me- 
dium, oval, black ; tough pulp, with a good deal of acidity, 
juicy, and a peculiar flavor. Ripens irregularly. Subject 
to rot and leaf-blight. 



CULTURE OP THE ORAIM:. 123 

GARRIGUES. 

Closely resembling the Isabella, but ripens more 
evenly, and is of somewhat l)etter quality. 

TOKALON. 

Bunch large, loose, shouldered; berry black, large, 
sweet and buttery ; of very good quality, but very much 
subject to disease. Ripens somewhat later than Catawba. 

ANNA. 

Bunch large and loose ; berry pale amber, covered with 
white bloom; sweet, tolerable flavor, but j)oor bearer, 
and subject to mildew. Kipens about same time as 
Catawba. 

Allen's hybrid, (allen's white hybrid). 

Bunch largo and loose, shouldered; berry medium, 
nearly round ; white, without pulp, juicy and delicious ; 
quality very good, but variable; sometimes best. Said 
to be a hy])rid of Vitis Labrusca and a foreign grape, 
raised by J. F. Ai.lkn, Salem, Massachusetts, and is really 
a fine grape, although too tender and variable for ex- 
tensive vineyard culture. Ripens about two weeks be- 
fore Catawba. 

CUYAHOOA (cOLEMAN's WHITE). 

Much recommended in Ohio, where it originated, but 
unworthy of culture here, being a poor grower, a shy 
bearer and very much subject to leaf-blight. Bunch me- 
dium, compact; berry dirty greenish-white; thick skin; 
pulpy, and insipid. 



124 CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 

DEVEREAUX. 

This is, in dry seasons, a really fine grape, but subject 
to leaf-blight and mildew in hot seasons. Bunch often 
a foot long, loose, shouldered ; berry below medium, round, 
black, juicy ; without pulp, sweet and vinous. Belonging 
to the Herbemont family ; is a strong grower ; very pro- 
ductive, and rather tender. May be valuable in well 
drained soils, and southern climate, as it undoubtedly will 
make a fine wine. 

KINGSESSING. 

Bunch long and loose, large, shouldered ; berry medium, 
round, pale red, with fine lilac bloom; pulpy; of fair quality, 
but subject to leaf-blight, and mildew. 

ROGERS' HYBRID, NO. 15. 

Bunch large, loose, shouldered; berry above medium, 
red with blue bloom, roundish-oblong, pulpy, with pecu- 
liar flavor, sweet and juicy. A showy grape, but not 
very good in quality, and much subject to mildew and 
rot. Ripens at the same time with Catawba. 



Class 5. — Varieties unworthy of cultivation. 



OPORTO. 



Of all the humbugs ever perpetrated upon the grape- 
growing public, this is one of the most glaring. The 
vine, although a rank and healthy grower, is unproductive ; 
seldom setting more than half a dozen berries on a bunch, 



CULTURE OF THE GRAPE. 125 

and these are so sour, have such a hard pdp, with such a 
decided frost-grape taste and flavor, and are so deficient in 
juice, that no sensible man should think of making them 
into wine, much less call it, as its disseminator did, " the 
true port wine grape." 

MASSACHUSETTS WHITE. 

This was sent me some eight years ago, by B. M. Watson, 
as " the best and hardiest Avhite grape in cultivation," and 
he charged me the moderate sum of $5 each, for small 
pot plants, with hardly two eyes of ripened wood. After 
careful nursing of three years, I had the pleasure of 
seeing my labors rewarded by a moderate crop of the 
vilest red Fox Grapes it has ever been my ill luck to try. 

The foregoing have all been tried by me, and have 
been characterized and classified as I have found them 
here. The following are varieties I have not fruited yet, 
although I have them on trial. 

Varieties highly recommended by good authorities: 
Telegraph, Black Hawk, Rogers' Hybrids, Nos. 3, 4, 6, 9, 
12, 13, 19, 22, 33, Hettie, Lydia, Charlotte, Mottled, 
Pauline, Wilmington, Cotaction and Miles. 

There are innumerable other varieties, for which their 
originators all claim peculiar merits, and some of whom 
may prove valuable. But all who bring new varieties 
before the public, should consider that we have already 
names enough, nay, more than are good for us, and that 
it is useless to swell the list still more, unless we can do 
so with a variety, superior in some respects to our best 
varieties. A new grape, to claim favor at the hands of 
the public, should be healthy, hardy, a good grower, and 
productive ; and of superior quality, either for the table 
or for wine. 



l'2Q CULTURE OK Till!: guape: 

There are some varieties circulated tlirougliout the 
country as natives, whicli are really nothing but foreign 
varieties, or, perhaps, raised from foreign seed. They 
will not succeed in open air, althougli now and then they 
will ripen a bunch. The Brinkle, Canadian Chief, Child's 
Superb, and El Paso belong to this class. 

A really good talk grape siiould have a largo amoimt 
of sugar, but tempered and made more agreeable by a 
due proportion of acid, as, if the acid is wanting, it will 
taste insipid; a tender pulp, agreeable flavor, a large 
amount of juice, a good sized bunch, large berry, small 
seeds, thin skin, and hang well to the bunch. 

A good ivme grape should have a large amount of sugar, 
with the acid in due proportion, a distinctive flavor or 
aroma ; though not so strong as to become disagreeable, 
and for red wines a certain amount of astringency. It is 
an old vintner's rule, that the varieties with small berries 
will generally make the best v/ine, as they are generally 
richer in sugar, and have more character than varieties 
with larger berries. 



• 




Fig. 28. 

Clara. — Berries ^ diameter. 



127 



wi«i**t«aKi«o. 



129 



WINE-MAKING. 



GATHERING THE GRAPES. 



Although I have described the process ah*eady, I will 
here again reiterate that the grapes should be thoroughly 
rvpe. This does not simply mean that they are well 
colored. The Concord generally begins to color hei;e the 
6th of August, and we could gather the majority of our 
grapes, of that variety, for market, by the 15 th or 20th 
of that month ; but for wine-making we allow them to 
hang until the 15th or 20th of September, and sometimes 
into October. Thus only do we get the full amount of 
sugar and delicacy of aroma which that grape is capable 
of developing, as the water evaporates, and the sugar 
remains ; it also loses nearly all the acidity from its pulp ; 
and the latter, which is so tough and hard immediately 
after coloring, nearly all dissolves and becomes tender. 
The best evidences of a grape being thoroughly ripe are : 
1st. The stem turns brown, and begins to shrivel; 2nd, 
the berry begins to shrivel around the stem ; 3d, thin and 
transparent skin ; 4th, the juice becomes very sweet, and 
sticks to the finger like honey or molasses, after handling 
the grapes for some time. 

It is often the case that some bunches ripen much later 
on the vines. In such a case, the ripest should be gathered 

181 



132 



MANUFACTURE OF 



first, and those that are not fully ripe remain on the vines 
until mature. They will ripen much quicker if the ripest 
bunches have been removed first. 

The first implements needed for the gathering are clean 
wooden and tin pails and sharp knives, or better still, the 
small shears spoken of in a former part of this work. 
Each gatherer is provided with a pail, or two may go 
together, having a pail each, so that one can empty and the 
other keep filling during the time. If there are a good 
many unripe berries on the bunches, they may be put into 




Fig. 29. 



a separate pail, and all that are soft will give an inferior 
wine. The bunch is cut with as short a stem as possible^ 
as the stem contains a great deal of acid and astringency; 
every unripe or decayed berry is picked out, so that 
nothing but perfectly sound, ripe berries remain. 

The next implement that we need is a wooden tub or 
vat, to carry the grapes to the mill ; or the wagon, if the 
vineyard is any distance from the cellar. This is made of 
thin boards, half-inch pine lumber generally; 3 feet high 



AMERICAN WINE. 13S 

inside, 10 inches wide at the bottom, 20 inches wide at 
the top, being flat on one side, where it is carried on the 
back, and bound with thin iron hoops. It is carried by 
two leather-straps running over the shoulders, as sho^wii m 
Fig. 29, and should contain about eight to ten pails, or a 
little over two bushels of grapes. The carrier can pass 
easily through the rows with it to any part of the vine- 
yard, and lean it against a post until full. If the vineyard 
is close to the cellar or press-house, the grapes can be car- 
ried to it directly ; if too far, we must provide a long 
tub or vat, to place on the wagon, into which the grapes 
are emptied. I will here again repeat that the utmost 
cleanliness should be observed in all the apparatus ; and 
no tub or vat should be used that is in the least degree 
mouldy. Everything should be perfectly sweet and clean, 
and a strict supervision kept up, that the laborers do not 
drop any crumbs of bread, &c., among the grapes, as this 
will immediately cause acetous fermentation. The weather 
should be dry and fair, and the grapes dry when gathered. 

THE WINE-CELLAR. 

As the wine-cellar and press-house are generally built 
together, I will also describe tliem together. A good 
cellar should keep about an even temperature in cold and 
warm weather, and should,, therefore, be built sufficiently 
deep, arched over with stone, well ventilated, and kept 
dry. Where the ground is hilly, a northern or north- 
western slope should be chosen, as it is a great conve- 
nience, if the entrance can be made even with the ground. 
Its size depends, of course, upon the quantity of wine to 
be stored. I will here give the dimensions of one I am 
constructing at present, and which is calculated to store 
from 15,000 to 20,000 gallons of wine. The principal cellar 



134 MANUFACTURE OF 

will be 100 feet long, by 18|- feet wide inside, and 12 feet 
high under the middle of the arch. This will be divided 
into two compartments; the back one, at the farthest 
end of the cellar, to be 40 feet, which is destined to keep 
old wine of former vintages ; as it is the deepest below 
the gromid, it will keep the coolest temperature. It is 
divided from the front compartment by a wall and doors, 
so that it can be shut off should it become necessary to 
heat the other, while the must is fermenting. The other 
compartment will be GO feet long, and is intended for the 
new wine, as the temperature will be somewhat higher, 
and, therefore, better adapted to the fermentation of the 
must. This will be provided with a stove, so that the 
air can be warmed, if necessary, during fermentation. 
This will also be closed by folding doors, 5.} feet wide. 
There will be about six ventilators, or air-flues, on each 
side of these two cellars, built in the wall, constructed 
somewhat like chimneys, commencing at the bottom, 
whose upper terminus is about two feet above the arch, 
and closed with a grate and trap-doors, so that they can be 
closed and opened at will, to admit air and light. Before 
this principal cellar is an arched entrance, twenty feet 
long inside, also closed by folding doors, and as wide as 
the principal cellar. This will be very convenient to 
store empty casks, and can also be used as a fermenting 
room in Fall, should it be needed. The arch of the prin- 
cipal cellar will be covered with about six feet of earth ; 
the walls of the cellar to be two feet thick. The press- 
house will be built above the cellar, over its entire length, 
and will also be divided into two rooms. The part far- 
thest from the entrance of the cellar, to be GO feet by 18, 
will be the press-house proper, with folding doors on both 
sides, about the middle of the building, and even with the 
surface ground, so that a wagon can pass in on one side 



AMERICAN WINE. 135 

and out on tho other. This will contain the grape-mill, 
wine-presses, apparatus for stemming, and fermenting vats 
for white or light-colored wine. The other part, 40 feet 
long, will contain an apparatus for distilling, the casks 
and vats to store the husks for distilling, and the vats 
to ferment very dark colored wines on the husks, should 
it be necessary. It will also be used as a shop, contain 
a stove, and be floored, so that it will be convenient, in 
wet and cold weather, to cut cuttings, &c. A large cis- 
tern, to be built on one side of the building, so that the 
necessary water for cleaning casks, &c., will be handy; 
with a force-pump, will complete the arrangement. I 
need hardly add here, that the whole cellar should be 
paved with flags or brick, and well drained, so that it will 
be perfectly dry. 

This cellar is destined to hold two rows of casks, five 
feet long, on each side. For this purpose layers of strong 
beams are provided, upon which the casks are laid in 
such a manner that they are about two feet from the 
ground, fronting to the middle, and at least a foot or 
eighteen inches of space allowed between them and the 
wall, so that a man can conveniently pass and examine 
them. This will leave five and a-half to six feet of space 
between the two rows, . to draw off the wine, move 
casks, &G. 

This cellar will, at the present rates of work, cost about 
$6,000. Of course, the cellar, as before remarked, can be 
built according to the wants of the grape-grower. For 
merely keeping wine during the first winter, a common 
house cellar will do ; but during the hot days of summer 
wine will not keep well in it. 



136 MANUFACTURE OF 

APPARATUS FOR WINE-MAKING. THE GRAPE MILL AND PRESS. 

This mill can be made very simple, of two wooden 
rollers, fastened in a square frame, rmming against each 
other, and turned with a crank and cog-wheel, The 
rollers should be about nine inches in diameter, and set 
far enough apart to mash the berries, but not the seeds 
and stems. A very convenient aj^paratus, mill and press, 
is manufactured by Geiss & Brosius, Belleville, 111., and 
where the quantity to be made does not exceed 2,000 
gallons, it will answer every purpose. The mill has stone 
rollers, which can be set by screws to the proper distance, 
with a cutting apparatus on top, for apples in making 
cider, which can be taken off at will. The press is by 
itself, and consists of an iron screw, coming up through 
the platform, with a zinc tube around it to prevent the 
must from coming in contact with it. The platform has 
a double bottom, the lower one with grooves ; the upper 
consists simply of boards, with grooves through it to 
allow the must to run through. These boards are held in 
their places by wooden pegs, and can be taken oif at 
will. A circular hopper, about a foot in diameter, and 
made of laths screwed to iron rings, with about a quarter 
of an inch space between thein, encloses the zinc tube. 
The outer frame is constructed in the same w^ay, is about 
2^ feet in diameter, and bound with strong w^ooden 
and iron hoops. The mashed grapes are poured into the 
frame, a close-fitting cover is put on, which is held down 
by a strong block, and the power is applied by an iron 
nut just on the top of the screw, with holes in each end 
to apply strong wooden levers. The apparatus is strong, 
simple, and convenient, and presses remarkably fast and 
clean, as the must can run off below, on the outside and 
also on the inside. The cost of mill and press is about 
), but each can be had separately for $45. 



AMERICAN WINE. 137 

If a large amount of graj^es are to be pressed, the press 
should be of much larger dimensions, but may be con- 
structed on the same principle — a strong, large platform, 
with a strong screw coming through the middle, and a 
frame made of laths, screwed to a strong wooden frame, 
through which the must can run off freely, with another 
frame around the outside of the platform. The must runs 
off through grooves to the lower side, where it is let off 
by a spout. It may be large enough to contain a hundred 
bushels of grapes at a single pressing, for a great deal 
depends upon the ability of the vintner to press a large 
amount just at the proper time, when the must has fer- 
mented on the husks just as long as he desires it to do. 

FERMENTING VATS. 

These should correspond somewhat with the size of 
the casks we intend to fill ; but they are somewhat un- 
handy if they hold more than, say four hundred gallons. 
They are made of oak or white pine boards, IJ- inch 
thick, bound securely by iron hoops, about three feet 
high, and, say, five feet wide. The bottom and inside 
must be worked clean and smooth, to facilitate washing. 
When the must is to ferment a longer time on the husks, 
as is often the case in red wines, a false bottom should be 
provided, for the pm'pose of holding the husks down be- 
low the surface of the must. It is made to fit the size 
of the vat, and perforated with holes, and held in its 
place by sticks of two inches square, let into the bottom 
of the vat, and which go through the false bottom. A 
hole is bored through them, and the bottom held down 
by means of a peg passed through this hole. The vat is 
closed by a tight-fitting cover, through which a hole is 
bored, large enough to admit a tin tube of about an inch 



138 MANUFACTURE OP 

in diameter, to let off the gas. The vats are set high 
enough above the ground to admit drawing off the must 
through a faucet near the bottom of the vat. For those 
grapes which are to be pressed immediately we need no 
false bottoms or covers for the vats. As fermentation 
generally progresses very rapidly here, and it is not de- 
sirable with most of our wines to ferment them on the 
husks very long, as they generally have astringency enough, 
operations here are much more simple than in Earope. 

The must is generally allowed to run into a largo funnel, 
filled with oat straw, and passes through a hose into the 
casks in the cellar. A hole can be left throus^h the arch 

CD 

for that purpose, as it is much more convenient than to 
carry the must in buckets from the press into the casks. 

It is sometimes desirable to stem the grapes, although 
it is seldom practiced in this country. This can be easily 
done by passing the bunches rapidly over a grooved board, 
made somewhat in the form of a common washboard, 
only the grooves should be round at the bottom and the 
edges on top. It is seldom desirable here. 



THE WINE CASKS. 

These should be made of well-seasoned white oak 
staves, and can, of course, be of various sizes to meet the 
wants of the vintner. The best and most convenient size 
for cellar use I have found to be about 500 gallons. 
These are sufficiently large to develop the wine fully, and 
yet can be filled quick enough to not interrupt fermenta- 
tion. Of course, the vinter must have some of all sizes, 
even down to the five-gallon keg ; but for keeping wine, 
a cask of 500 gallons takes less room comparatively, and 
the wine will attain a higher degree of perfection than 
in smaller casks. The staves to make such a cask should 



AMERICAN WINE. 139 

be about 5 feet long, and 1|- to 2 inches thick, and be the 
very best wood to be had. The cask will, when ready, 
be about as high as it is long, should be carefully worked 
and planed inside, to facilitate washing and have a so- 
called door on one end, 12 inches wide and 18 inches 
high, which is fastened by means of an iron bolt and screw, 
and a stronsj bar of wood. This is to facilitate cleanino;; 
when a cask is empty, the door is taken out, and a man 
slips into the cask with a broom and brush, and carefully 
washes off all remnants of lees, etc., which, as the lees of 
the wine are very slimy and tenacious, cannot be removed 
by merely pouring in water and shaking it about. It is 
also much more convenient to let these large casks re- 
main m their places, than to move them about. The 
casks are bound with strong iron hoops. 

To prepare the new casks, and also the vats, etc., for 
the reception of the must, they should be either filled with 
pure water, and allowed to soak for several days, to draw 
out the tannin; then emptied, scalded with hot water, and 
afterwards steamed with, say two or three gallons of 
boiling wine ,• or they can be made " wine-green," by put- 
ting in about half a bushel of unslaked lime, and pouring 
in about the same quantity of hot water. After the lime has 
fallen apart, add about two quarts of water to each pound 
of lime, put in the bung, and turn the cask about ; leaving 
it lie sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other, so 
that the lime will come in contact with every part of the 
cask. Then j)our out the lime-water ; wash once or twice 
with warm Avater, and rinse with a decoction of vine 
leaves, or with warm wine. Then rinse once more 
with cold water, and it will be fully pre2:)ared to receive 
the must. This is also to be observed with old casks, 
which have become, by neglect or otherwise, mouldy, or 
have a peculiar tang. 



140 MANUFACTURE OP 



MAKING THE WINE. 



As we have our apparatus all prepared now, we can 
commence the operation itself. This can be done in 
different ways, according to the class of wine we are 
about to make. 

To make white, or light-colored wine, the grapes which 
were gathered and mashed during the day, can be pressed 
and put into the cask the following night. To mash them, 
we place the mill above one of the fermenting vats, mash- 
ing them as quick as they are carried or hauled to the 
press-house. The vat is simply covered with a cloth 
during the day. If the season has been good, the must 
will make good wine without the addition of anything 
else. In poor seasons it will be necessary to add water 
and sugar, to improve its quality, but I will s^eak of 
this method in a separate chapter. In the evening, the 
must which w^ill run off, is first drawn from the vat, and 
by some kept separate ; but I think, it makes, upon the 
whole, a better wine, if the pressing is added to it. The 
husks, or mashed grapes, are then poured upon the 
press, and pressed until fully dry. To accomplish this 
the press is opened several times, and the edges of the 
cake, or " cheese," as some call it, are cut off with an axe 
or cleaver and put on top , after which they are pressed 
down again. The casks are then filled with the must ; 
either completely, if it is intended that the must should 
ferment ahove^ as it is called, or wider ^ when the cask is not 
completely filled, so that the husks, which the must will 
throw up, will remain in the cask. Both methods have 
their advantages, but I prefer the former, with a very 
simple contrivance, to exclude the air, and also prevent 
waste. This is a siphon or tin tube, bent in the form of 
a double elbow, of which one end fits tightly in the bung 



AMERICAN WINE. 



141 



hole, and the other empties into a dish of water, to be set 
on one end of the cask, through which the gas escapes, 
as shown in Fig. 30. 

We should, however in pressing, be guided somewhat 
by the weather. In warm weather fermentation will 
commence much sooner, and be more violent, than when 
the weather is cold. Consequently we should press much 
sooner in warm weather, than when the air is cool. Late 
in the fall, it is sometimes advisable to leave the must a 




Fig. 30. 



day longer on the husks, than indicated below. The cel- 
lar should be kept at an even temperatvire of about 60° 
during the first few weeks, and if it does not naturally 
attain this temperature, then it should be warmed by a 
stove, as much of the quality of the whie depends upon a 
thorough fermehtation during the first ten days. 

When violent fermentation has ceased, say after about 
ten or twelve days, and the must has become quiet, the 
cask should be closed with a tight bung, and the wine is 



142 



MANUFACTURE OP 



left until it is clear. In about two to three months it 
ought to be perfectly clear and fine — is then racked, i. e., 
drawn from the lees, by means of a faucet, and put into 
clean, sweet casks. It is very important that the casks 
are " wine-seasoned," that is, have no other tang than of 
wine. For must, fresh brandy or whiskey casks may be 
used, but after the wine has fermented, it will not do to 
use such, as the wine will acquire the smell and taste of 
the liquor. When a cask has been emptied, it should be 
carefully cleaned, as before described, by entering at the 
door, or with smaller casks, by taking out the head. 




Fig. 31. 

After it is thoroughly cleansed, it may be fumigated 
slightly, by burning a small piece of sulphured j^aper, or 
a nutmeg in it, and then filled. To keep empty casks in 
good condition they should, after cleaning, be allowed to 
become thoroughly dry, when they are sulphured, closed 
tightly, and laid away in the cellar. The oi^eration of 
sulphuring should be repeated every six weeks. If wanted 
for use, they are simply rinsed with cold water. 

For racking the wine, we should have : 1st a large 
brass faucet. 2d. Pails of a peculiar shape, wider at the 
top, to prevent Avastage. od. A wooden funnel, as shown 
in Fig. 31, to hold about six gallons. In racking— first 



AMERICAN WINES. 143 

carefully lift the bung of the cask, as the exclusion of air 
from above would cause a gurgling motion in the cask, if 
tai3ped below, w^hich would stir up the lees in the bot- 
tom. Then, after having loosened with a hammer the 
wooden peg. closing the tap hole, let your assistant hold 
the pail opposite the hole , hold the taucet in your right 
hand, and with the left, withdraw the plug, inserting the 
faucet quickly. Drive it in firmly with a hammer, and 
you are ready for the work. 

Do not fully open the faucet at first, because the first pail 
ful is generally not quite clear, and should run slowly. You 
can keep this by itself; and this, and the last from the lees, 
is generally put into a cask together and allowed to set- 
tle again. It will make a good, clear wine after a few 
weeks. As soon as the wine runs quite clear and limpid, 
it can be put into the cask destined to receive it, and you 
can let it run as fast as it can be emptied. When the wine- 
has run oif down to the tap hole, the cask may be care, 
fully raised on the other end, one inserting a brick or 
piece of board under it, while the other lifts gently and 
slowdy. This may be repeated several times, as long as 
the wine runs clear ; and even the somewhat cloudy wine 
may be put with the first pailful into a separate cask. 
As soon as it comes thick or muddy, it is time to stop. 
The lees are emptied out, and will, if distilled, make a 
fine flavored and very strong brandy. 

This treatment can be applied to all Avhite and light- 
colored wines, when it is not desirable to have a certain 
astringency in the wine. The Catawba, Concord, Herbe- 
mont, Delaware, Hulander, Cassady, Taylor, Louisiana, 
Hartford Prolific, and Cunningham should all be treated 
in a similar manner. The Concord, although it will, 
under this treatment, make only a light red wine, of 
which the color can be changed to dark red by ferment- 



144 MANUFACTURE OF 

ing on the husks, is not desirable if treated in the latter 
manner ; as the peculiar foxy aroma of the grape will be 
imparted to the must to such a degree, as to make the 
flavor disagreeable. I shall recur to the subject of flavor 
in wines in another chapter. 

To make red wine, the must should be fermented on 
the husks, as generally the darkest color is desired, and 
also, a certain astringency, which the wine will acquire' 
princij)ally from the seeds, skins, and stems of the grapes, 
which contain the tannin. The grapes are mashed, and put 
into the fermenting vat, of the kind described before, with 
false bottoms. After the vat is filled about three-fourths 
the false bottom is put on, the husks are pressed down 
by it, until tliey are covered about six inches by the must, 
and the cover put on. It is seldom desirable here to fer- 
ment longer than three days on the husks, if the weather 
•is warm — in a temperature of 60° — two days will often 
be enough, as the wine will become too rough and astrin- 
gent by an excessively long fermentation. Only experience 
will be the proper guide here, and also the individual taste. 
It will be generally time to press, when the must has 
changed its sweet taste, and acquired a somewhat rough 
and bitter one. Where it is desired to make a very dark 
colored wine, without too much astringency, the grapes 
should be stemmed, as most of the rough and bitter taste 
is in the stems; and it can then be fermented on the 
husks for six or eight days. In this manner the celebrated 
Burgundy wines are made ; also most of the red wines of 
France and Germany. Many of them are even allowed 
to go through the whole process of fermentation, and the 
husks are filled into the cask with the must, through a door, 
made in the upper side of the cask ; and it there remains, 
until the clear wine is drawn off. This is seldom de- 
sirable here, however, as our red wine grapes have sufii- 



AMERICAN WINES. 145 

cient astringency and color without this process. The 
treatment during fermentation, racking, etc., is precisely 
the same as with white wine, with only this difference, that 
the red wine is generally allowed to stay longer on the lees; 
for our object in making this class of wine is different than 
in making white, or so-called Schiller or light red wine. 
In white and light colored wines we desire smoothness 
and delicacy of bouquet and taste ; in dark red wines, we 
desire astringency and body, as they are to be the 
so-called stomach or medical wines. It is therefore gen- 
erally racked but once, in the latter part of February or 
March, and the white and light colored wines are racked 
in December or January, as soon as they have become 
clear — and again in March. We also use no .sulphur in 
fumigating the casks, as it takes away the color to a 
certain extent. We generally do not use anything, but 
simply clean the casks well, in racking red wine. 

I will say a few words in regard to under fermenta- 
tion. If this method is to be followed, the casks are not 
filled, but enough space lett to allow the wine to ferment, 
without throwing out lees and husks at the bung. The 
bung is then covered, by laying a sack filled with sand 
over it, and when fermentation is over — as well by this 
as by the other method — the casks are filled with must 
or wine, kept in a separate cask for the jiurpose. The 
casks should always be kept well filled, and must be 
looked over and filled every two or three weeks, as the 
Avine will continually lose in quantity, by evaporation 
through the wood of the casks. The casks should be 
varnished or brushed over with linseed oil, as this will 
prevent evaporation to some extent. 

In wine making, and giving the wine its character, we 
can only be guided by practice and individual taste, as 
well as the prevailing taste of the consuming public. If 



140 MANUFACTUKK OK 

the prevailing taste is for light colored, smooth and deli- 
cate wines, we can make; them ho, by pressing immediately, 
and ra(;king soon, and frequently. If a dark colored, 
astring(!nt wine is desired, we (;an fermcint on the 
husks, and l(;ave it on the le(}S a longer j>eriod. There 
is a medium (jourse, in this as in everything else; and the 
int(^lli<r(!nt vintner will soon iind the rules wliich should 
guide; him, hy practice with diffc^rcint varieties. 

Amon<r th(; winijs to be treated as dark red, I will name 
Norton's Virginia, Cynthiana, Arkansas, and (Jlinton, 
and, 1 suppose, Ives' Seedling. It would be insulting to 
these noble wines to class with tliein the Oporto, which 
may make a very dark colored li(juid, l)ut no wine worth 
the name, unhiss an immense (juantity of sugar is added, 
and enough of water to dilute the peculiar v'le aroma of 
that grape. 

AFTER TREATMENT OK TMK WINK. 

Even if the wine was perfectly fme and clear, when 
drawn oft*, it will go through a second fermentation as 
soon as warm weather sets it — say in May or June. 
If th(; wine is clear and iine, liowever, the fermcsntation 
will he l<!ss violent, than if it is not so clear, as the lees, 
which the wine has luiver entirely deposited; act as they 
ferment. It is not safe or judicious, therefore, to bottle 
th(! wiiKi hfforr, this sc^eoiul fermentation is over. As soon 
as the, win;; has b(;come perfectly clear and line again — 
generally in August or September — it can be bottled. 
For bottling wnie we need: 1st. clean bottles. 2d. good 
corks, which must first be scahled with liot water, to soften 
them, and draw out all impiuitit^s, and tlien soaked in cold 
water. 3d. a small funnel. '1th. a small faucet. 6th. 
a cork-prc^ss, of iron or wood. Gth. a light wooden 
mallet to drive in the corks. 



AMERICAN WINES. 147 

After tlie faucet has been inserted in the cask, fill your 
bottles so that there will be about an inch of room 
between the cork and the wine. Let them stand about 
five minutes before you drive in the cork, which should 
always be of rather full size, and made to fit by compress- 
ing it with the press at one end. Then drive in the cork 
with the mallet, and lay the bottles, either in sand on the 
cellar floor, or on a rack made for that purpose. They 
should be laid so that the wine covers the cork, to exclude 
all air. 

The greater bulk of the wine, however, if yet on hand, 
can be kept in casks. All the wine to be kept thus, 
should be racked once in about six months, and the casks 
kept well filled. Most of our native wines, however, are 
generally sold after the second racking in March, and a 
great many even as soon as clear — in January. 

DISEASES OF THE WINE AND THEIR REMEDIES. 

These will seldom occur, if the wine h^s been properly 
treated. Cases may arise, however, when it will become 
necessary to rack the wine, or fine it by artificial means. 

TREATMENT OP FLAT AND TURBID WINE. 

The cause of this is generally a want of Tannin. If 
the wine has a peculiar, flat, soft taste, and looks cloudy, 
this is generally the case. Draw the wine into another 
cask, which has been well sulphured, and add some pul- 
verized tannin, which can be had in every drug store. 
The tannin may be dissolved in water — about an ounce 
to every two hundred gallons of wine — and the wine well 
stirred, by inserting a stick at the bung. Should it not 
have become clear after about three weeks, it should be 
fined. This can be done, by adding about an ounce of 



148 MANUFACTURE OP 

powdered gum-arabic to each forty gallons, and stirring 
the wine well when it has been poured in. Or, take some 
wine out of the casks — add to each forty gallons which it 
contains the whites of ten eggs, whipped to foam with 
the wine taken out — pour in the mixture again — stir up 
well, and bung up tight. After a Aveek the wine will 
generally be clear, and should then be drawn off*. 

USE OF THE HUSKS AND LEES. 

These should be distilled, and will make a very strong, 
fine flavored brandy. The husks are put into empty bar- 
rels or vats — stamped down close, and a cover of clay 
made over them, to exclude the air. They will thus un- 
dergo a fermentation, and be ready for distillation in about 
a month. They should be taken fresh from the press, 
however ; for if they come into contact with the air, ^hey 
will soon become sour and mouldy. The lees can be dis- 
tilled immediately. Good fresh lees, from rather astrin- 
gent wines are also an excellent remedy when the wine 
becomes flat, as before described. 

DR. gall's and PETIOl's METHOD OP WINE MAKINO. 

The process of wine making before described, however, 
can only be applied in such seasons, and with such varie- 
ties of grapes, that contain all the necessary elements 
for a good wine in due proportion. For unfavorable 
seasons, with such varieties of grapes as are deficient in 
some of the principal ingredients, we must take a differ- 
ent course — follow a different method. To see our way 
clearly before us in this, let us first examine which are 
the constituent parts of must or grape juice. A chemical 
analysis of must, shows the following result : 

Grape juice contains sugar, water, free acids, tannin, 



AMERICAN WINES. *149 

gummy and mucous substances, coloring matter, fragrant 
or flavoring substances, (aroma bouquet). A good wine 
should contain all these ingredients in due proportion. 
If there is an excess of one, and a want of the other, the 
wine will lose in quality. Must, which contains all of 
these, in due proj)ortion, we call normal must, and only by 
determining the amount of sugar and acids in this so- 
called normal must, can we gain the knowledge how to 
improve such must, w^hich does not contain the necessary 
proportion of each. The frequent occurrence of unfavora- 
ble seasons in Europe, when the grapes did not ripen 
fully, and were sadly deficient m sugar, set intelligent 
men to thinking how this defect could be remedied ; and 
a grape crop, which was almost worthless, from its w^ant of 
sugar, and its excess of acids, could be made to yield at least 
a fair article, instead of the sour and imsaleable article 
generally produced in such seasons. Among the foremost 
who experimented with this object in view I will here 
name Chaptal, Petiol ; but esj)ecially Dr. Ludwig Gall, 
who has at last reduced the whole science of wine-making 
to such a mathematical certainty, that we stand amazed 
only, that so simj^le a process should not have been 
discovered long ago. It is the old story of the Q^g of 
Columbus ; but the poor vintners of Germany, and France, 
and w^e here, are none the less deeply indebted to those in- 
telligent and persevering men for the incalculable benefits 
they have conferred upon us. The production of good wine 
is thus reduced to a mathematical certainty ; although we 
cannot in a bad season, produce as highflavored and delicate 
wines, as in the best years, wx can now always make a fair 
article, by following the simple rules laid down by Dr. 
Gall. When this method was first introduced, it was 
calumniated and despised — called adulteration of Avine, 
and even prohibited by the governments of Europe ; but, 



160 



MANUFACTURE OP 



Dr. Gall fearlessly challenged his opponents to have his 
wines analyzed by the most eminent chemists ; which was 
repeatedly done, and the results showed that they con- 
tained nothing but such ingredients which pure wine 
should contain ; and since men like Von Babo, Dobereiner 
and others have openly endorsed and recommended 
gallizing, prejudice is giving way before the light of 
scientific knowledire. 

But to determine the amount of 
sugar and acids contained in the must 
we need a few necessary implements. 
These are : 

THE MUST SCALE OR SACCHAROMETER. 

The most suitable one now in use 
is the Oechsles must scale, constructed 
on the principle that the instrument 
sinks the deej^er into any fluid, the 
thinner it is, or the less sugar it con- 
tains. Fig. 32 shows this instrument, 
"which IS* geneally made of silver, 
or German silver, although they are 
also made of glass. A, represents a 
hollow cylinder — best made of glass, 
filled with must to the brim, into which 
place the must scale B. It is composed of the hollow 
float <?, Avhich keeps it suspended in the fluid; of the 
weight c, for holdmg in a perpendicular position ; and of 
the scale ^, divided by small lines into from fifty to one 
hundred degrees. Before the guage is placed in the must, 
draw it several times through the mouth, to moisten it — 
but allow no saliva to adhere to it. When the guage 
ceases to descend, note the degree to which it has sunk ; 




Fig. 32. 



AMERICAN WINES. 151 

after which press it down with the finger a few degrees 
further, and on its standing still again, the line to which 
the must reaches, indicates its so-called weight, expressed 
by degrees." The must should be weighed in an entirely 
fresh state, before it shows any sign of fermentation, and 
should be free from husks, and pure. 

This instrument, which is indispensable to every one 
who intends to make wine, can be obtained in nearly 
every large town, from the j)rominent opticians. Jacob 
Blattner, at St. Louis keeps them for sale. 

The saccharometer will indicate the amount of sus^ar in 
the must, and its use is so simple, that every one can soon 
become familiar with it. The next step in the improve- 
^ ment of wines was to determine the amount of acids the 
must contained, and this problem has also been success- 
fully solved by the invention of the acidimeter : 

THE ACIDIMETER AND ITS USE. 

" The first instrument of this kind which came into 
general use, was one invented by Dr. Otto, and consists 
of a glass tube, from ten to twelve inches in length, half 
an inch in width, and closed at the lower end. Fig. 33 
shows Otto's Acidimeter. 

'' The tube is filled to the partition line <?, with tincture 
of litmus. The must to be examined, before it has begun 
to ferment is then poured into the tube, until it reaches 
the line 0. The blue tincture of litmus, which would still 
be blue, if water had been added, is turned into rose- 
color by the action of the acids contained in the must. 

" If a solution of 1,369 per cent, of caustic ammonia 
is added to this red fluid, and the tube is turned around 
to effect the necessary mixture, keeping its mouth closed 
with the thumb, after the addition of more or less 



152 



MANUFACTURE OF 




of the ammonical fluid, it will change into violet. This 
tinge indicates the saturation of the acids ; and the height 
of the fluid in the tube now shows the quantity of acid 
in the must, by whole, half and fourth parts per cent. The 
lines marked 1,2, 3, 4, indicate whole per cents. ; the short 
intermediate lines, one-fourth per cents." 

When Dr. Gall, shortly before the vint- 
age of 1850, first publicly recommended 
the dilution of the acids, he Avas obliged to 
refer to this instrument, as already known, 
and everywhere at hand, which was at the 
same time cheap, and simple in its use. "It 
is true, however, that if must is examined 
by this instrument, the quantity of acids con- 
tained in it, is really somewhat larger than 
indicated by the instrument ; because the 
acids contained in the must require for 
their saturation a weaker solution of am- 
monia than acetic acid. As however. Otto's 
acidimeter shows about one-eighth of the 
acids less than the must actually contains, 
and about as much acids combined with 
earths is removed during fermentation, 
Dr. Gall recommends that the quantity 
of acids be reduced to 6^, or at most 7 
thousandths of Otto's acidimeter, and the 
results have shown that this was about the 
right proportion ; as the wines in which the 
acids were thus diluted were in fivor with all consumers. 
^' The acidimeter referred to was afterwards imjDroved, 
by making the tube longer and more narrow, and divid- 
ing it into tenths of per cents, instead of fourths ; thus 
dividing the whole above into thousandths. But 
although by this improved acidimeter the quantity of 



Fig. 33. 



AMERICAN WINES. 



153 



acids could be ascertained with more nicety, there re- 
mained one defect, that in often turning the glass tube 
for mixing the fluids, some of the contents adhered to 
the thumb in closing its mouth. This defect was remedied 
in a new acidimeter, invented by Mr. Geisler, who also 






Fig. 34. Fig. 35. Fig. 36. 

invented the new vaporimeter for the determination of 
the quantity of alcohol contained in wine. It is based on 
the same principle as Otto's, but differs altogether in its 
construction. It is composed of three parts, all made of 



154 MANUFACTURE OF 

glass ; the mixing bottle, Fig. 34 ; the Pipette, Fig. 35 ; 
and the burette, Fig 86. Besides, there should be ready- 
three small glasses — one filled Avith tincture of litmus, 
the second with a solution of 1,369 per ammonia, and 
the third with the must or wine to be tested ; also, a 
taller glass, or vessel, having its bottom covered with 
cotton, in which glass the burette, after it has been filled 
with the solution of ammonia, is to be placed in an up- 
right position until wanted. 

"■ To use this instrument the must and the tincture of 
litmus, having first received the normal temperature of 
14° Reaumer, are brought into the mixing bottle by 
means of the pipette, which is a hollow tube of glass, 
open on both ends. To fill it, place its lower end into 
the tincture or must, apply the mouth to the upper end, 
and by means of suctioff fill it with the tincture of litmus 
to above the line indicated at A. The opening of the 
top is then quickly closed with the thumb ; by alternately 
raising the thumb, and pressing it down again, so much 
of the tincture is then allowed to flow back into the glass 
so as to lower the fluid to the line indicated at A. The 
remainder is then brought into the bottle, and the last 
drops forced out by blowing into the pipette. 

" In filling it with must, raise the fluid in the same way, 
until it comes up to the line indicated at B, and then 
empty into the mixing bottle. 

" The burette consists of two hollow tubes of glass. In 
filling it, hold the smaller tube with the right hand into 
the glass containing the solution of ammonia, apply the 
mouth to the larger one, and by drawing in the fluid 
the tube is filled exactly to the line indicated at of the 
tube. 

" Holding the mixing bottle by the neck between the 
thumb and forefinger of the left hand, place the smaller tube 



AMERICAN WINEC. 155 

of the burette into the mouth of the mixing bottle, which 
must be constantly shaken ; let enough of the solution of 
ammonia be brought drop by drop, into the mixture in 
the bottle, till the red has been changed into the deep 
reddish blue of the purple onion. This is the sign of the 
proper saturation of the acids. To distinguish still better, 
turn the mixing bottle upside down, by closing its mouth 
with the thumb, and examine the color of the fluid in the 
tube-shaped neck of the bottle, and afterwards, should it 
be required, add another drop of the ammonia. Repeat 
this until the proper tone of color has been reached, 
neither red nor blue. After thus fixing the precise point 
of the saturation of the acids, the burette is held upright, 
and the quantity of the solution of ammonia consumed is 
accurately determined, — that is, to what line on the scale 
the burette has been emptied. The quantity of the 
solution so used corresponds with the quantity of acids 
contained in the must — the larger division lines opposite 
the numbers indicating the thousandths part, and the 
smaller lines or dots the ten thousandths part. 

" Until the eye has learned by practice to recognize the 
points of saturation by the tone of color, it can be proven 
by means of litmus j)aper. When the mixture in the 
bottle begins to turn blue, put in the end of a slip of 
litmus paper about half an inch deep, and then draw this 
end through your fingers, moistened with water. So long 
as the ends of the blue litmus paper become more or 
less reddened, the acids have not been completely satur- 
ated. Only when it remains blue, has the point of satura- 
tion been reached. 

^' In examining redianst, the method should be modified 
as follows : — Instead of first filling the pipette with tinc- 
ture of litmus, fill it with water to the line A, and transfer 
it into the bottle. After the quantity of must has been 



156 MANUFACTURE OF 

added, drop six-thousandths of the sohition of ammonia 
into tlie mixture, constantly shaking it while dropping, 
then test it, and so on, until, after every further addition 
required with litmus paper, it is no longer reddened after 
having been wiped off/' 

Dr. Gall further gives the following directions, as a 
guide, to distinguish and determine the proportion of 
acids which a must should contain, to be still agreeable 
to the palate, and good : 

" Chemists distinguish the acid contained in the grape 
as the vinous, malic, grape, citric, tannic, gelatinous and 
para-citric acids. Whether all these are contained in the 
must, or which of them, is of small moment for us to 
know. For the practical wine-maker, it is sufficient to 
know, with full certainty, that, as the grape ripens, while 
the proportion of sugar increases, the quantity of acids 
continually diminishes ; and hence, by leaving the grapes 
on the vines as long as possible, we have a double means 
of improving their products — the must or wine. 

" All wines, without exception, to be of good and of 
agreeable taste, must contain from 4.} to 7 thousandths 
parts of free acids, and each must containing more than 
seven thousandths parts of free acids may be considered 
as having too little water and sugar in proportion to its 
quantity of acids. 

" In all wine-growing countries of Germany, for a 
number of years past, experience has proved that a cor- 
responding addition of sugar and water is the means of 
converting the sourest must, not only into a good drink- 
able wine, but also into as good a wine as can be produced 
in favorable years, exce;pt in that peculiar and delicate 
aroma found only in the must of well-ripened grapes, and 
which must and will always distinguish the wines made 
in the best seasons from those made in poor seasons. 



AMERICAN WINES. 157 

" The saccharometer and acidimeter, properly used, will 
give us the exact knowledge of what the must contains, 
and what it lacks ; and we have the means at hand, by- 
adding Avater, to reduce the acids to their proper propor- 
tion ; and by adding sugar, to increase the amount of 
sngar the must should contain ; in other words, we can 
change the poor must of indifferent seasons into the nor- 
mal must of the best seasons in everything^ except its bouquet 
or aroma, thereby converting ail unwholesome and dis- 
agreeable drink into an agreeable and healthy one." 

THE CHANGE OP THE 3IUST. BY FERMENTATION, INTO WINE. 

Let us glance for a few moments at this wonderful, 
simple, and yet so complicated process, to give a clearer 
insight into the functions which man has to perform to 
assist Nature, and have her work for him, to attain the 
desired end. I cannot put the matter in a better light 
for my readers than to quote again from Dr. Gall. He 
says : — " To form a correct opinion of what may and can 
be done in the manufacture of wine, we must be thoroughly 
convinced that Nature, in her operations, has other objects 
in view than merely to serve man as his careful cook and 
butler. Had the highest object of the Creator, in the 
creation of the grape, been simply to combine in the 
juice of the fruit nothing but w^hat is indispensible to the 
formation of that delicious beverage for the accommoda- 
tion of man, it might have been still easier done for him 
by at once filling the berries with wane already made. 
But in the production of fruits, the first object of all is to 
provide for the propagation and preservation of the 
species. Each fruit contains the germ of a new plant, 
and a quantity of nutritious matter surrounding and 
developing that germ. The general belief is, that this 



158 MANUFACTURE OF 

iintritioiis matter, and even the peculiar combination in 
which it is found in the fruit, has been made directly for 
the immediate use of man. This, however, is a mistake. 
The nutritious matter of the grape, as in the apple, pear, 
or any similar product, is designed by Nature only to 
serve as the first nourishment of the future plant, the 
cerm of which lies in it. There are thousands of fruits 
of no use whatever, and are even noxious to man, and 
there are thousands more which, before they can be used, 
must be divested of certain parts, necessary, indeed, to 
the nutrition of the future plant, but unfit, in its present 
state, for the use or nourishment of man. For instance, 
barley contains starch, mucilaginous sugar, gum, adhesive 
matter, vegetable albumen, phosphate of lime, oil, fibre 
and water. All these are necessary to the formation of 
roots, stalks, leaves, flowers and the new grain ; but for 
the manufacture of beer, the brewer needs only the first 
three substances. The same rule applies to the grape. 

" In this use of the grape, all depends upon the judg- 
ment of man to select such of its parts as he wishes, and 
by his skill he adapts and applies them in the best man- 
ner for his purposes. In eating the graj^es, he throws 
away the skins and seeds ; for raisins, he evaporates the 
w^ater, retaining only the solid parts, from which, when 
he uses them, he rejects their seeds. If he manufactures 
must, he lets the skins remain. In making wine, he sets 
free the carbonic acid contained in the must, and removes 
the lees, gum, tartar, and, in short, everything deposited 
during, and immediately after fermentation, as well as 
when it is put into casks and bottles. He not only 
removes from the wine its sediments, but watches the 
fermentation, and checks it as soon as its vinous fermenta- 
tion is over, and tlie formation of vinegar about to begin. 
He refines his wine by an addition of foreign substances 



AMERICAN WINES. 159 

if necessary ; ho sulphurizes it ; and, by one means or 
another, remedies its distempers. 

"The manufacture of wine is thus a many-sided art; 
and he wlio does not understand it, or knows not how to 
guide and direct the powers of Nature to his own pur- 
poses, may as well give up all hopes of success in it." 

So far Dr. Gall; and to the intelligent and unbiased 
mind, the truth and force of these remarks will be 
apparent, without further extending or explaining them. 
How absurd, then, the blind ravings of those who talk 
about "natural" wines, and would condemn every addition 
of sugar and water to the must by man, when Nature has 
not fully done her part, as adulteration and fraud. Why, 
there is no such thing as a " natural wine ;" for wine — good 
wine — is the product of art, and a manufacture from 
beginning to end. Would we not think that parent ex- 
tremely cruel, as well as foolish, who would have her 
child without clothing, simply because Nature had allowed 
it to be born without it ? Would not the child suffer and 
die, because its mother failed to aid Nature in her work, by 
clothing and feeding it when it is yet unable to feed 
and clothe itself? And yet, would not that wine- 
maker act equally foolish who has it within his power to 
remedy the deficiencies of Nature with such means as 
she herself supplies in good season, and which ought and 
would be in the must but for unfavorable circumstances, 
over which we have no control ? Wine thus improved 
is just as pure as if the sugar and water had naturally 
been in the grapes in right proportions ; just as beneficial 
to health ; and only the fanatical " know-nothing " can 
call it adulterated. But the prejudices will disappear 
before the light of science and truth, however much 
ignorance may clamor against it. Galileo, when forced 
to abjure publicly his great discovery of the motion 



IGO MANUFACTUKE OF 

of the earth around the sun as a heresy and lie, mur- 
mured between his teeth the celebrated words, " And 
yet it moves." It did move ; and the theory is now an 
acknowledged truth, with which every schoolboy is 
familiar. Thus will it be with improved wine-making. 
It will yet be followed, generally and universally, as sure 
as the public will learn to distinguish between good and 
poor wine. 

Let us now observe for a moment the change which 
fermentation makes in converting the must into wine. 
The nitrogeneous compounds — vegetable albumen, gluten 
— which are contained in the grape, and which are dis- 
solved in the must as completely as the sugar, under 
certain circumstances turn into the fermenting principle 
and so change the must into wine. This change is brought 
about by the fermenting substance coming into contact 
with the air, and receiving oxygen from it, in consequence 
of which it coagulates, and shows itself in the turbid 
state of must, or young wine. The coagulation of the 
lees takes place but gradually, and just in the degree the 
exhausted lees settle. The sugar gradually turns into 
alcohol. The acids partly remain as tartaric acid, are 
partly turned into ether, or settle with the lees, chrystal- 
lize, and adhere to the bottom of the casks. The etheric 
oil, or aroma, remains, and develops into bouquet ; also the 
tannin, to a certain degree. The albumen and gluten 
principally settle, although a small portion of them 
remains in the wine. The coloring matter and extractive 
principle remain, but change somewhat by fermenta- 
tion. 

Thus it is th must containing a large amount of sugar 
needs a longer time to become clear than that containing 
but a small j^ortion of it ; therefore, many southern wines 
retain a certain amount of sugar undecomposed, and they 



AMERICAN WINES. 161 

are called sweet, or liqueur wines ; whereas, wines in which 
the whole of the sugar has been decomposed are called 
sour or dry wines. 

I have thought it necessary to be thus explicit to give 
my readers an insight into the general principles which 
should govern us in wine-making. I have quoted freely 
from the excellent work of Dr. Gall. We will now see 
whether and how we can reduce it to practice. I will try 
and illustrate this by an example. 



NORMAL MUST. 

" Experiments continued for a number of years have 
proved that, in favorable seasons, grape juice contains, on 
the average, in 1,000 lbs. : 

Sugar,. — _.. 240 lbs. 

Acids, __- 6 " 

Water, 754 " 



1,000 



This proportion would constitute what I call a normal 
must. But now we have an inferior season, and the 
must contains, instead of the above proportions, as 
follows : 

Sugar, 150 lbs. 

Acids, . ._ 9 " 

Water,--- 841 " 

1,000 « 



162 MANUFACTURE OF 

What must we do to bring such must to the condition of 
a normal must ? This is the question thus arising. To 
solve it, we calculate thus : If, in six pounds of acids in a 
normal wine, 240 pounds of sugar appear, how much 
sugar is Avanted for nine pounds of acids ? Answer, 360 
pounds. Our next question is : If, in six pounds of acids 
in a normal must, 754 pounds of water appear, how much 
water is required for nine pounds of acids? Answer, 
1,131 pounds. As, therefore, the must which we intend 
to improve by neutralizing its acids, should contain 360 
pounds of sugar, nine pounds of acids, and 1,131 pounds 
of water, but contains already 150 pounds of sugar, 9 
pounds of acids, and 841 pounds of water, there remain to 
be added, 210 pounds of sugar, no acids, and 290 pounds 
of water. 

By ameliorating a quantity ol 1,000 pounds must by 
210 pounds sugar, and 290 pounds water, we obtain 1,500 
pounds of must, consisting of the same properties as the 
normal must, which makes a first-class wine." 

This is wine-making, according to Gall's method, in 
Europe. Now, let us see what we can do with it on 
American soil, and with American grapes. 

THE MUST OF AMERICAN GRAPES. 

If we examine the must of most of our American wine 
grapes closely, we find that they not only contain an ex- 
cess of acids in inferior seasons, but also a superabund- 
ance of flavor or aroma, and of tannin and coloring mat- 
ter. Especially of flavor, there is such an abundance that, 
were the quantity doubled by addition of sugar and water, 
there would still be an abundance ; and with some varie- 
ties, such as the Concord, if fermented on the husks, it is 
so strong as to be disagreeable. We must, therefore, not 



AMERICAN WINES. 163 

only ameliorate the acid, but also the flavor and the 
astringency, of which the tannin is the principal cause. 
Therefore it is, that to us the knowledge of how to pro- 
perly gallize our wines is still more important than to the 
European vintner, and the results which we can realize 
are yet more important. By a proper management, Ave 
can change must, which would otherwise make a disagree- 
able whie, into one in which everything is in its proper 
proportion, and which will delight the consumer, to whose 
fastidious taste if would otherwise have been repugnant. 
True, we have here a more congenial climate, and the 
grapes will generally ripen better, so that we can in most 
seasons produce a drinkable wine. But if we can increase 
the quantity, and at the same time improve the quality, 
there is certainly an inducement, which the practical 
business sense of our people will not fail to appreciate 
and make use of. 

There is, however, one difticulty in the way. I do not 
believe that the acidimeter can yet be obtained in the 
country, and we must import them direct from the manu- 
facturers. Dr. L. C. Marquart, of Bonn, on the Rhine ; or 
J. DiEiiN, Frankfort-on-the-Main. 

However, this difiiculty will soon be overcome ; and, 
indeed, although it is impossible to practice gallizing 
without a saccharometer, we may get at the surplus of 
acids with tolerable certainty by the results shown by the 
saccharometer. To illustrate this, I will give an example : 

Last year was one of the most unfavorable seasons for 
the ripening of grapes we have ever had here, and espe- 
cially the Catawba lost almost nine-tenths of its crop by 
mildew and rot ; it also lost its leaves, and the result was, 
that the grapes did not ripen well. When gatheiing my 
grapes, upon weighing the must, I found that it ranged 
from 52° to 70^ ; whereas, in good seasons, Catawba must 



164 



MANUFACTURE OP 



weighs from 80*^ to 95°. I now calculated thus : if nor- 
mal must of Catawba should weigh at least 80^, and the 
must I have to deal with this season will we^gh on an 
average only 60'-'', I must add to this must about ^ lb. of 
sugar to bring it up to 80°. But now I had the surplus 
acid to neutralize yet. To do this, I calculated thus : If, 
even in a normal Catawba must, or a must of the best 
seasons, there is yet an excess of acid, I can safely count 
on there being at least one-third too much acid in a must 
that weighs but 60*^. I, therefore, added to every 100 
gallons of must 40 gallons of soft water, in which I had 
first dissolved 80 lbs. of crushed sugar, which brought 
the water, when weighed after dissolving the sugar in it, 
up to 80°. Now, I had yet to add 50 lbs., or half a pound 
to each gallon of the original must, to bring this up to 80*^. 
I thus pressed, instead of 100 gallons, 150 gallons, from 
the same quantity of grapes ; and the result was a wine, 
which every one who has tasted it has declared to be ex- 
cellent Catawba. It has a brilliant pale yellow color, was 
perfectly clear 1st of January, and sold by me to the first 
one to whom I offered it, at a price which I have seldom 
realized for Catawba wine made in the best seasons, with- 
out addition of sugar or water. True, it has not as strong 
an aroma as the Catawba of our best seasons, nor has it 
as much astringency ; but this latter I consider an advan- 
tage, and it still has abundant aroma to give it character. 
Another experiment I made with the Concord satisfied 
me, without question, that the must of this grape will 
always gain by an addition of water and sugar. I pressed 
several casks of the pure juice, which, as the Concord had 
held its leaves and ripened its fruit very well, contained 
sugar enough to make a fair wine, namely, 75°. This I 
generally pressed the day after gathering, and put into 
separate casks. I then took some must of the same 



AMERICAN. WINES. 165 

weight, but to which I had added, to every 100 gallons, 
50 gallons of water, in which I had diluted sugar until 
the watej* weighed 75°, or not quite two pounds of sugar 
to the gallon of water, pressed also after the expiration 
of the same time, and otherwise treated in the same man- 
ner. Both were treated exactly alike, racked at the same 
time ; and the result is, that every one who tries the two 
wines, without knowing how they have been treated, 
prefers the gallized wine to the other — the pure juice of 
the grape. It is more delicate in flavor, has less acidity 
and a more brilliant color than the first, the ungallized 
must. They are both excellent, but there is a difterence 
in favor of the gallized wine. 

Dr. Gall recommends grape sugar as the best to be 
used for the purpose. This is made from potato starch ; 
but it is hard to obtain here, and I have found crushed 
loaf sugar answer every j^urpose. I think this sugar has 
the advantage over grape sugar, that it dissolves more 
readily, and can even be dissolved in cold water, thus 
simplifying the process very much. It will take about 
two pounds to the gallon of water to bring this up to 
80*^, which will make a wine of sufticient body. The 
average price of sugar was about 22 cents per pound, 
and the cost of thus producing an additional gallon of 
wine, counting in labor, interest on capital, etc., will be 
about 60 cents. When the wine can be sold at from $2 
to $3 per gallon, the reader will easily perceive of what 
immense advantage this method is to the grape-grower, 
if he can thereby not only improve the quality, but also 
increase the quantity of the yield. 

The efforts made by the Commissioner of Patents, and 
the contributors to the annual reports from the Patent 
Oftice, to diftuse a general knowledge of this process, can 
therefore not be commended too highly. It will help 



166 MANUFACTURE OP 

much to bring into general use, among all classes, good, 
pure, native wines ; and as soon as ever the poorer classes 
can obtain cheap agreeable wines, the use of bad whiskey 
and brandy will be abandoned more and more, and this 
nation will become a more temperate people. 

But this is only the first step. There is a way to still 
further increase the quantity. Dr. Gall and others found, 
by analyzing the husks of the grape after the juice had 
been extracted by powerful presses, that they not only 
still contained a considerable amount of juice, but 
also a great amount of extracts, or wine-making 
principles, in many instances sufficient for three times 
the bulk of the juice already expressed. This fact 
suggested the question : As there are so many of these 
valuable properties left, and only sugar and water ex- 
hausted, why cannot these be substituted until the others 
are completely exliausted ? It was found that the husks 
still contained sufficient of acids, tannin, aroma, coloring 
matter, and gluten. All that remained to be added was 
water and sugar. It was found that this could be easily 
done; and the results showed that wine made in this 
manner was equal, if not superior, to some of that made 
from the original juice, and was often, by the best judges, 
preferred to that made from the original must. 

I have also practiced this method extensively the last 
season ; and the result is, that I have fully doubled the 
amount of wine of the Norton's Virginia and Concord. 
I have thus made 2,500 gallons of Concord, where I had 
but 1,030 gallons of original must ; and 2,600 gallons of 
Norton's Virginia, where I had but 1,300 gallons of must. 
The wines thus made were kept strictly separate from 
those mide from the original juice, and the result is, that 
many of them are better, and none inferior, to the original 
must ; and although I have kept a careful diary of wine- 




Fig. 37. 



Union Village. — Berries y^ diameter. 



167 



AMERICAN WINES. ' 169 

making, in which I have noted the process how each cask 
was made, period of fermentation on the husks, quantity 
of sugar used, etc., and have i^ot hesitated to show this to 
every purchaser after he had tasted of the wine, they 
generally, and Avith very few exceptions, chose those 
which had either been gallized in part, or entirely. 

My method in making such Avines was very simple. I 
generally took the same quantity of water, the husks had 
given original must, or in other words, when I had pressed 
100 gallons of juice, I took about 80 gallons of water. 
To make Concord wine, I added If lbs. of sugar to the 
gallon, as I calculated upon some sugar remaining in the 
husks, which were not pressed entirely dry. This in- 
creased the quantity, with the juice yet contained in the 
husks to 100 gallons, and brought the water to 70 ; calcu- 
lating that from 5'^ to 10° still remained in the husks, it 
would give us a must of about 80.° The grapes, as 
before remarked, had been gathered during the foregoing 
day, and were generally pressed in the morning. As 
soon as possible the husks Avere turned into the ferment- 
ing vat again, all pulled apart and broken, and the Avater 
added to them. As the fermentation had been very 
strong before, it immediately commenced again. I gener- 
ally alloAved them to ferment for tAventy-four hours, and 
then pressed again, but pressed as dry as possible this 
time. The Avhole treatment of this must Avas precisely 
similar to that of the original. 

In making Norton's Virginia, I Avould take, instead of 
If lbs., 2 lbs. of sugar to the gallon — as it is naturally a 
wine of greater body than the Concord — and I aimed to 
come as near to the natural must as possible. I "generally 
fermented this somcAvhat longer, as a darker color Avas 
desired. The time of fermentation must vary, of course, 
with the state of the atmosphere ; in cooler Aveather, 



170 ' MANUFACTURE OF 

both pressings should remain longer on the husks. The 
results, in both varieties were wines of excellent flavor, 
good body, a brilliant color, with enough of tannin or 
astringency, and sufiicient acid — therefore, in every way 
satisfactory. 

The experiments, however, were not confined to these 
alone, but extended over a number of varieties, Avith good 
results in every case. Of all varieties tried, however, I 
found that the Concord would bear the most of gallizing, 
without losing its own peculiar flavor; and I satisfied 
myself, that the quantity in this grape can safely be in- 
creased here^ from 100 gallons of must to 250 gallons of 
wine, and the quality yet be better, than if the must had 
been left in its normal condition. 

And it is here again where only experience can teach 
us how far we can go with a certain variety. It must be 
clear and apparent to any one who is ever so slightly 
acquainted with wine-making, how widely different the 
varieties are in their characteristics and ingredients. We 
may lay it down as a general rule, however, that our 
native grapes, with their strong and peculiar flavors, and 
their superabundance of tannin and coloring matter, Avill 
admit of much more gallizing, than the more delicately 
flavored European kinds. 

I have thus tried only to give an outline of the neces- 
sary operations, as well as the principles lying at the 
foundation of them. I have also- spoken only of facts 
as I have found them, as I am well aware that this is a 
field in which I have much to learn yet, and where it but 
poorly becomes me to act the part of teacher. Those de- 
siring more detailed information, I would refer to the 
Patent Office Reports of 1859 — 60, where they will 
find valuable extracts from the works of Dr. Gall ; and 
also to the ori2;inal works. 



AMERICAN WINES. 171 

If we look at the probable effect these methods of im- 
proving wines are likely to have upon grape-culture, it is 
but natural that we should ask the question : Is there 
anything reprehensible in the practice — any reason why 
it should not become general ? The answer to this 
is very simple. They contain nothing which the fer- 
mented grape juice, in its purest and most perfect state 
does not also contain. Therefore, they are as pure as any 
grape juice can be, with the consideration in their favor, 
that everything is in the right proportion. Therefore, if 
wine made from pure grape juice can be recommended 
for general use, surely, the gallized wines can also be re- 
commended. Dr. Gall has repeatedly offered to pay a 
fine for the benefit of the poor, if the most critical chemi- 
cal analysis could detect anything in them, which was 
injurious to health, or which pure wines ought not to 
contain, and his opponents have always failed to show 
anything of the kind. 

I know that some of my wine-making friends will blame 
me for thus " letting the cat out of the bag." They seem 
to think that it would be better to keep the knowledge 
we have gained, to ourselves, carefully even hiding the 
fact that any of our whines have been gallized. But it has 
always been a deep-seated conviction with me, that know- 
ledge and truth, like God's sun should be the common 
property of all His children — and that it is the duty of 
every one not to " hide his light under a bushel," but seek 
to impart it to all, who could, perhaps, be benefitted by 
it. And why, in reality, should we seek to keep as a 
secret a practice which is perfectly right and justifiable ? 
If there is a prejudice against it, (and we know there is)) 
this is not the way to combat it. Only by meeting it 
openly, and showing the fallacy of it, can we hope to 
convince the public, that there is nothing wrong about it* 



172 MANUFACTURE OP 

Truth and justice need never fear tlie light — they can 
only gain additional force from it. I do not even attempt 
to sell a cask of gallized vi^ine, before the purchaser is 
made fully acquainted with the fact, that it has been 
gallized. 

It is a matter of course, that many, who go to work 
carelessly and slovenly, will fail to make good wine, in 
this or any other way. To make a good article, the nature 
of each variety and its peculiarities must be closely 
studied — we must have as ripe grapes as we can get, 
carefully gathered; and we need not think that water 
and sugar will accomplish everijthing. There is a limit to 
everything, and to gallizing as well as to anything else. 
As soon as we pass beyond that limit, an inferior product 
will be the result. 

But let us glance a moment at the probable influence 
this discovery will have on American grape culture. It 
cannot be otherwise than in the highest degree beneficial; 
for when we simply look at grape-culture as it was ten 
years ago, with the simple product of the Catawba as its 
basis ; a variety which would only yield an average of, 
say 200 gallons to the acre — often very inferior wine — 
and look at it to-day, with such varieties as the Concord, 
yielding an average of from 1,000 to 1,500 gallons to the 
acre, which we can yet easily double by gallizing, thus in 
reality yielding an average of 2,500 gallons to the acre of 
uniformly good wine ; can we be surprised if everybody 
talks and thinks of raising grapes ? Truly, the time is 
not far distant — of which we hardly dared to dream ten 
years ago — and which Ave tlien thought we would never 
live to see ; when every American citizen can indulge in a 
daily glass of that glorious gift of God to man, j^ure, light 
wine; and the American nation shall become a really 
temperate people. 



AMERICAN WINES. * 173 

And there is room for all. Let every one further the 
cause of grape-culture. The laborer by producing the 
grapes and wine ; the mechanic by inventions ; the law- 
giver by making laws furthering its culture, and the con- 
sumption of it ; and all by drinking wine, in wise modera- 
tion of course. 

WINE MAKING MALE EASY. 

Some of my readers may think I did not look much to 
this, which I told them was one of the objects of this 
little work. To vindicate it and myself I will here state, 
that our object should alw^ays be to attain the highest 
perfection in everything. But, wdiile I am aware that I 
have generally given the outline of operations on a large 
scale, I have never for a moment lost sight of the interests 
of those, w^ho, like myself, are compelled, by bitter 
necessity, to commence at the lowest round of the ladder. 
And how could I forget the bitter experience of my 
first years, when hindered by want of means ; but 
also the feelings of sincere joy, of glad triiunph, Avhen I 
had surmounted one more obstacle, and saw the path 
open wider before me at every step ; and I can, therefore, 
fully sympathize wdth the poor laborer, who has nothing 
but his industrious hands and honest will to commence 
with. 

While, therefore, it is most advantageous to follow 
grape-growing and wine-making with all the conveniences 
of well prepared soil, substantial trellis, a commodious 
wine cellar and all its appurtenances ; yet, it is also pos- 
sible to do wdthout most of these conveniencies in the 
beginning, and yet succeed. If the grape-grower has not 
cajjital to spare to buy wire, he can, if he has timber on 
his land, split laths and nail them to the posts instead of 



174 MANUFACTURE OF 

wire. He can layer his plants even the first summer, and 
thus raise a stock for further planting ; or dispose of tliem, 
as already mentioned in the beginning of this work. Or 
he can lease a piece of land from some one who Avishes to 
have a vineyard planted on it, and who will furnish the 
plants to him, besides the necessary capital for the first 
year or so. I have contracted with several men without 
means in this manner, furnished them a small house, the 
necessary' plants, and paid them |150 the first two years, 
they giving me half the returns of the vineyards, in plants 
and grapes ; and they have become wealthy by such 
means. One of my tenants has realized over $8,000 for 
his share the last season, and will very likely realize the 
same amount next season. 

And if he cannot aiford to build a large cellar in the 
beginning, he can also do with a small one, even the most 
common house cellar will do through the winter, if it is 
only kept free from frost. One of our most successful 
wine-growers here, commenced his operations with a 
simple hole in the ground, dug under his house, and his 
first wine press was merely a large beam, let into a tree, 
which acted as a lever upon the grapes, Avith a press-bed, 
also of his own making. A few^ weeks ago the same man 
sold his last year's crop of wine for over $9,000 in cash, and 
has raised some $2,000 worth more in vines, cuttings, etc. 
Of course, it is not advisable to keep the wine over sum- 
mer in an indifferent cellar, but during fermentation and 
the greater part of Avinter, it wnll answ^er very well, and 
he can easily dispose of his wine, if good, as soon as .clear. . 
Or he can dispose of his grapes at a fair price, to one of 
his neighbors, or take them to market. 

Bub there is another consideration, Avhich I cannot urge 
too strongly upon my readers, and Avhich Avill do much to 
make grape-growing and Avine-making easy. It is the 



AMERICAN WINES. 175 

forming of grape colonies, of grape-growers' villages. 
The advantages of such a colony will be easily seen. If 
each one has a small piece of suitable land, (and he does 
not need a large one to follow grape-growing), the neigh- 
bors can easily assist each other in ploughing and sub- 
soiling ; they will be able to do with fewer work animals, 
as they can hitch together, and first prepare the soil for 
one and then for the other ; the ravages of birds and in- 
sects will hardly be felt ; they can join together, and 
build a large cellar in common, where each one can de- 
liver and store his wine, and of which one perhaps better 
acquainted with the management of wine than the others, 
and vrhom all are Avilling to trust, can have the manage- 
ment. If there should be no such man among them, an 
experienced cooper can be hired by all, who can also 
manufacture the necessary casks. An association of that 
kind has also, generally, the preference in the market over 
a single individual, and they are able to obtain a higher 
l^rice for their products, if they are of good quality. 

There are thousands upon thousands of acres of the best 
grape lands yet to be had in the West, especially in 
Missouri, at a merely nominal price, which would be well 
adapted for settlements of that kind ; where the virgin 
soil yet waits only the bidding of intelligent labor — of 
enterprising and industrious men — to bring forth the 
richest fruits. There is room for all — may it soon be 
filled with willing hearts to undertake the task. 

And how much easier for you to-day, men with the 
active hand and intelligent brain, to commence — with the 
certainty of success before you — with varieties which will 
yield a large and sure return every year ; Avith the market 
o^^en before you, and the experience of those who have 
commenced, to guide you; with the reputation of American 
wines established ; with double the price per gallon — and 



176 MANUFACTURE OF 

ten times the yield — compared with the beginner of only- 
ten years ago, with nothing but uncertainty ; uncertainty 
of yield, uncertainty of quality, of price, and of effecting 
a sale. 

It took a brave heart then^ and an iron will ; the deter- 
mination to succeed, — succeed against all obstacles. And 
yet, hundreds have commenced thus, and have succeeded. 
Can yon hesitate, when the future is all bright before you, 
and the thousand and one obstacles have been overcome ? 
If you do, you are not fit to be a grape-grower. Go 
toil and drudge for so many cents per day, in some fac- 
tory, and end life as you have begim it. God's free air, 
the cultivation of one of His noblest gifts, destined to 
" make glad the heart in this rugged world of ours," is 
not for you. I may pity you, but I cannot sympathize 
with nor assist you, except by raising a cheap glass of 
wine to gladden even your cheerless lot. 







V ,' . 




Fig. 38. 
Maxatawny.— kernes \ diameter. 



111 



ST.^^TISTIOS- 



COST OF ESTABLISHING A VINEYARD. 

In this, of course, allowances must be made for soil, 
locality, cost of plants, cost of timber, etc., which will 
vary with the locality. The estimation given here is about 
what it would cost here^ with the leading varieties. 

COST OF AN ACRE OF CONCORD. 

Preparing ground by ploughing, laying oif, etc., $50 00 
700 first-class yearling plants, to be planted 6x10, 

$12 per hundred, 

450 posts, 15 feet apart, 10 cents each, - 

450 intermediate stakes, 3 " - - - 

600 lbs. No. 12 wire, 16 cents per lb.. 

Cost of erecting trellis, 

Attendance, labor, etc., during first year, 
Interest on capital, ------ 

$408 50 
The following year the vineyard can be made to pay 
all expenses, by layering, etc. 

COST OF AN ACRE OF HERBEMONT. 

Preparing ground, - - - - - - 50 00 

700 first class plants, 6x10, $25 per hundred, - 175 00 

450 posts, 10 cents each, - - - - - 45 00 

450 stakes, 3 " 13 50 

600 lbs. wire, 16 cents per lb., - - - - 96 00 

Cost of erecting trellis, - - - - 50 00 

Attendance, labor, during first two years, - 125 00 

Interest on capital during first two years, - 66 00 

$620 50 



84 00 


45 


00 


13 


50 


96 


00 


50 


00 


50 


00 


20 


00 



180 STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 

COST OF AN ACRE OF NORTOn's VIRGINIA. 

Preparation of soil, etc., 50 00 

850 plants, first class, to be planted 6x8, $25 per 

hundred, 

450 posts, 10 cents each, ----- 

450 stakes, 3 " 

600 lbs. No. 12 wire, 16 cents per lb.. 
Cost of erecting trellis, - . . . 

Attendance, labor, etc., during first two years, - 
Interest on capital during first two years, at 6 

per cent, per annum, 

$662 00 

COST OF AN ACRE OF DELAWARE. 

Cost of preparing ground, 

1,200 first-class plants, planted 6x6, 

450 posts, 10 cents each, - - - 

450 stakes, 3 " 

600 lbs. No. 12 wire, 16 cents per lb. 
Cost of erecting trellis, ----- 
Cost of cultivation two first years, - 
Interest on capital two years. 



212 


50 


45 


00 


13 


50 


96 00 


50 


00 


125 


00 


70 


00 



50 


00 


400 


00 


45 


00 


13 


50 


96 


00 


50 


00 


125 


00 


92 


00 



$871 50 



COST OF AN ACRE OF CATAWBA. 

Preparing ground, ----- 

Cost of 1,200 plants, 6x6, 

450 posts, 10 cents each, - - - - 

450 stakes, 3 " . - . . 

600 lbs. wire, 16 cents per lb., - 

Cost of erecting trellis, - - - - 

Attendance during two years, - 

Interest on capital two years. 



45 


00 


45 


00 


13 


50 


96 00 


50 


00 


125 


00 


39 00 



$463 50 



STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 181 

PRODUCT. 



The following has been the produce of a vineyard of 
Catawba, now under my management, since 1849: 



Bearing 




Vines 


Gallons of 




Yield per 


season. 




bearing. 


Wine. 


Price. 


acre. 


1849, 1st year, 


1,500 


750 


$1.25 


$600 00 


1850, 2d 




2,000 


150 


1.25 


. 95 00 


1851, 3d 




2,000 


500 


1.25 


300 00 


1852, 4th 




1,800 


210 


1.25 


120 00 


1853. 5th 




1,500 


580 


1.25 


500 00 


1854, 6th 




2,500 


750 


1.50 


600 00 


1855, 7th 




3,000 


230 


2.00 


150 00 


1856, 8th 




4,000 


150 


2.00 


75 00 


1857, 9th 




4,000 


2,000 


1.20 


600 00 


1858, 10th 




4,000 


210 


1.20 


60 00 


1859, 11th. 




4,200 


1,200 


1.20 


360 00 


1860, 12th 




4,200 


1,300 


1.25 


405 00 


1861, 13th 




4,200 


150 


1.00 


37 50 


1862, 14th 




4,200 


20 


2.00 


10 00 


1863, 15th 




4,200 


150 


2.00 


75 00 


1864, 16th 




4,200 


150 


2.00 


75 00 


1865, 17th 




4,200 


500 


2.00 


250 00 



Which will show the average yield^ per acre, 

to have been somewhat over - - - 250 00 

Deduct from this cost of labor 

per year, per acre, - - 50 00 

Interest on capital, - - 40 00—90 00 

Would leave a clear profit, per acre, of - - 160 00 

The poor returns were nearly all occasioned by mildew 
and rot, with the exception of 1862, when a very destruc- 
tive hail-storm swept away almost the entire crop ; and in 
1864, when the vines were all killed down to the snow- 
line by frost the preceding winter. 

The following is the cost of a vineyard planted by me, 
in May, 1861, containing about 3,000 vines, on 2 J acres of 
ground. The ground could not be made ready until late 



182 STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 

in the season, consequently many of the vines failed to 
grow, and had to be replanted the second season : 



• 



1700 Norton's Virginia, $20.00 per hundred, - 340 00 

400 Concord (small), 25 

350 Delaware, 50 " 

150 Herbemont, 25 " 

50 Cunningham, 50 " 

Other varieties assorted, - - - - 
Cost of clearing, ploughing, and planting, $50 

per acre, 

Putting up trellis, $150 per acre, - 
Interest on capital, 



. 100 


00 


175 


00 


37 


50 


25 


00 


. 100 


00 


• 125 


00 


375 


00 


• 100 


00 



,377 50 



PRODUCT. 

For layers and cuttings made 1st year, 

" " 2d " 

Concord grapes sold, 2,000 lbs., net 16 cents, 
Plants and cuttings fourth year, 
2,040 lbs. of grapes (Concord), marketed at 24 
cents per lb., net 



. 339 


00 


1200 


00 


■ 2500 


00 


- 320 


00 


4000 


00 


'• 489 


60 



$8,848 60 



PRODUCE FIFTH YEAR. 



1,030 gallons Concord at $2.50 - - - $2,575 00 
1,300 " "' 
125 " 
30 " 
40 " 
10 
50 
336 " Hartford Prolific Grapes 20 

cts. per lb. - - - 67 20 

57,000 Plants from cuttings and layers, average 

price $100 per thousand - - . . 5 JOO 00 



Norton's Virginia 


$4.00 - 


5,200 00 


Herbemont 


3.00 - 


375 00 


Cunningham - 


4.00 - 


120 00 


Delaware 


6.00 - 


240 00 


Clinton 


3.00 - 


30 00 


Other Varieties • 


3.00 - 


150 00 



STATISTICS OP GRAPE CULTURE, 183 

Leaving the product of the first five years $23,305 80 

From Avhich deduct axpenses for plants, 

trellis, etc., - - - - 1,277 

Interest on capital at 5 per cent. 500 

Cost of labor 1st. year, - - 150 

2d. " - - 800 

3d- " - - 400 

4th. " - - 500 - 

6th. " - - 500 



Total Cost - - - - - $3,627 



Leaves clear profit for first five years of - $19,679 80 

The fourth year, nearly all the fruit buds of the vines 
had been killed above the snovr line, but I made, besides 
the grapes sold, about $1,500 worth of wine, which was 
emptied by the rebels in their raid that fall, and conse- 
quently lost. The vines were not all in bearing this last 
season, for reasons already given ; and the whole amount 
of vines bearing, was not more than 2,200 — hardly two 
acres. If my readers will contrast this with the yield of 
the Catawba vineyard, they will see the ditlerence in 
yield between varieties suited to the climate and soil, and 
those unused to it. 

The last season — although imfavorable to the Catawba — 
produced an enormous yield of Concord and Norton's 
Virginia, and cannot be taken as an average crop. I 
think about 700 gallons of Norton's Virginia, and 1,200 
gallons of Concord would be a fair average estimate per 
year — which the vines can easily produce, and remain 
healthy and vigorous. 



184 



STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 



YIELD OF MR. MICHAEL 



Year after 


planting. 


1847, 


2d 


1848, 


3d 


1849, 


4th 


1850, 


5th 


1851, 


6th 


1852, 


7th 


1853, 


8th 


1854, 


9th 


1855, 


10th 


1856, 


11th 


1857, 


12th 


1858, 


13th 


1859, 


14th 


1860, 


15th 


1861, 


16th 


1862, 


17th 


1863, 


18th 



POESCHEL'S 


VINEYARD. 


CATAWBA. 


Acres in Vines 


Yield 


I. Price. 


5-6 


24 gallons 2.00 


3-6 


1,000 ' 


2.00 


2 


600 ' 


1.50 


^ 


350 ' 


1.25 


^ 


450 ' 


1.75 


2i 


500 


1.50 


^ . 


350 ' 


2.00 


H 


800 ' 


2.00 


3^ 


50 ' 


' 1.50 


H 


1,000 ' 


1.25 


6 


4,500 ' 


1.50 


6 


1,100 ' 


' 1.75 


6 


1,500 ' 


1,50 


6 


2,000 ' 


' . 1.25 


6 


250 ' 


' 1.00 


6 


300 ' 


1,50 


8 


2,000 ' 


1.15 



NEW VINEYARD OF MR. MICHAEL POESCHEL, PLANTED IN 1861, 
1863 FIRST PARTIAL CROP. 

500 Gallons Norton's Virginia — 2 acres, at $3 

per gallon $1,500 00 

Grapes sold from i acre of Concords - 400 00 

Plants from cuttings and layers sold - - 2,000 00 



$3,900 00 

1864. SECOND CROP. VINES BADLY FROSTED IN WINTER. 

2 Acres of Nortons Virginia produced 600 

gallons, at $4 50 - . - - - - $2,700 00 
24 Acres of Catawba, produced 400 gallons, 

''at $2 15 850 00 

Grapes sold from ^ acre of Concord - - 400 00 

Plants sold - 1,500 00 



$5,450 00 



STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 185 

1865 THIRD CROP. 

2f Acres of Norton's Virginia, produced 

2,000 gallons at U 8,000 00 

2^ Acres Catawba, produced 450 gallons at 

$1 75 787 50 

1^ Acres Concord, produceed 1,000 gallons, 

at $250 2,500 00 

•^ acre Herbemont produced 400 gallons, at 

m per gallon, ...... 1/200 00 

■^ acre Rulander produced 50 gallons, at ^5 250 00 

Plants sold, ---.-..- 1,500 00 



$14,237 50 
This vineyard was trenched at an average cost of $120 
dollars to the acre, and most of the vines are planted 5x5, 
evidently too close. They are trained to wire trellis, as 
described in a former part of this work, and receive close 
attention, and the very best cultivation. 

YIELD OF VINEYARD OF MR WILLIAM POESCIIEL 1857. 

li" acres of Catawba produced 1,050 gallons 
of wine; sold at 1,402 50 

1858. 

If acres of Catawba produced 250 gallons; 

sold at $1.10 per gallon, - - - - 275 00 

1859. 

If acres Catawba produced 300 gallons ; sold 

at $1.25 per gallon, - - . - - 375 00 

1860. 

2 acres of Catawba produced 8,843 lbs. of 

grapes; sold at 10c. per lb., - - - 884 30 

120 gallons of wine, at $1.20 per gallon, - 144 00 

230 " " 0.95 " - - 218 50 

Plants sold, • - 600 00 

$1,846 80 



186 STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 

1^61. 

2 acres of Catawba produced 270 gallons, at 

$1.05 per gallon, 283 50 

Plants sold, ' - 500 00 



$783 50 



1862. 

2 acres Catawba produced 6,718 lbs. of grapes; 

sold at 9 cents per lb., - - - - 604 62 

225 gallons of wine, sold at '1^1.25 per gallon, - 28125 

75 '' of Norton's Virginia, from about 

1-lOth of an acre, at $2.75 per gallon, - - 206 25 

Plants sold, 650 00 



,742 12 



1863 2^ ACRES IN ALL. 

720 gallons of Catawba, at $1.85 per gallon, 
60 " Concord, at $2.00 " 

70 " Herbemont, at $2 " 

40 " Norton's Virginia, $3 " 

Plants sold, 



1,332 


00 


120 


00 


140 


00 


120 


00 


800 


00 



$2,512 00 



1864 2|^ ACRES IN bearing; vines badly FROSTED. 

45 gallons Catawba, $2.00 per gallon, 
42 " Concord, 2.50 

20 '' Norton's Virginia and Delaware mix- 
ed, at $5.25 per gallon, - 
10 " Norton's Virginia, second class, at $3 
Plants sold, 



90 


00 


105 


00 


105 


00 


30 


00 


300 


00 



$630 00 



STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 187 

1865 5 ACRES IN BEARING. 



2 J acre Catawba produced 900 galls., at 

I " Concord " 700 " 

1 " Norton'sYir." 600 " 

I " Delaware " 120 " 

-k " Herbemont " 350 " 

Balance in other varieties, 

Plants sold, - - - - - 



11.75, 


1,575 00 


2.50, 


1,750 00 


4.00, 


2,400 00 


5.00, 


600 00 


2.50, 


875 00 


- 


150 00 


- 


940 00 



$8,290 00 



This vineyard has one of the best locations for Catawba 
and Delaware in the neighborhood, and its proprietor one 
of the most intelligent and industrious cultivators and 
wine-manufacturers in the vicinity. 

The following are copied from the report of a special 
committee appointed by the Cincinnati Horticultural 
Society, to inquire into the condition of vineyards, and 
report whether or not grape-growing was still profitable. 
I regret to say that our Cincinnati friends have not, gen- 
erally speaking, paid as much attention to the introduc- 
tion and testing: of better varieties — and there are but few 
vineyards in that neighborhood — where any other variety 
than the Catawba has been planted to any extent. It is 
to be hoped that the signal failure of that variety last 
season will do much to open their eyes to the full impor- 
tance of the subject, and to abandon the Catawba, which 
evidently will not pay any longer. 

" But, as we have already said, there are other varieties 
of grapes being successfully grown in this vicinity, and 
we have extended our researches to some of those vine- 
yards, and give the results as follows : — 

Ives' Seedling is a grape of much promise, not addicted 
to mildew and rot. Col. Wahring, of Indian -Hill, in this 
county, has a small vineyard, only two acres in bearing, 



188 STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 

which made, the past season, 650 gallons of wine. The 
season previous, only one acre in bearing, yielded 560 
gallons. The Colonel makes his account for the past 
season's business stand as follows : — 

650 gallons of wine, sold at $4.10 per gallon, $2,605 00 
Sale of cuttings, 1,500 00 

$4,165 00 
Deduct cost of taking care of vineyard, - - 100 00 



Leaving net product of vineyard, - - - $4,065 00 
Or o\^er $2,000 per acre. 

IsTorton's Virginia is another promising grape that is 
being grown considerably hereabouts. 

The Messrs. Bogen have given us their figures for the 
product of this grape, as follows : 

1863 — From 1^ acres, first year in bearing, 
they made 500 gallons, sold at $3 per 

gallon, $1,500 00 

Sale of cuttings, . . . . 400 00 

Sale of roots from layers, - - - 800 00 



$2,700 00 
Deduct from this, for cost of culture, 100 00 



Leaves net, $2,600 00 

Or $1,733 per acre. 
1864 — Yield of same in wine and cuttings, 2,300 00 
Or about $1,500 per acre. 

Delaware is another grape of very great promise and 
profit, now being extensively grown throughout the 
country. The Messrs. Bogen, from one-third of an acre, 
first bearing year, give us the following figures for the 
past season ; 



STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 189* 

87 gallons of wine, sold at 16 per gallon, - - 522 00 

Sold cuttings, 450 00 

Sold roots from layers, 2,050 00 



$3,022 Oi)0 
Deduct cost of culture, . . . . 22 00 



Or $9,000 per acre. 



$3,000 00 



Mr. J. E. MoTTiER gives us, as the result of his Delaware 
vineyard for the past two years, as follows : 



1863 FROM IJ ACRES. 



165 gallons of wine, sold at $5 per gallon, - $825 00 
Sale of cuttings, 1,630 00 



. 2,455 00 
Deduct expenses, 200 00 



Leaving net, $2,255 00 

Or $1,504 per acre, 

1864 FROM SAME VINEYARD. 

200 gallons of wine, at $6 per gallon, - - $1,200 00 

Sold roots from layers, - - . . 1,835 00 

Sales of cuttings, 2,360 00 



5,395 00 
Deduct expenses, 200 00 



Leaves net, $5,195 00 

Or $3,562 per acre. 

Mr. MoTTiER says he might have obtained a larger yield 
of wine, but his vineyard being young, he would not 
allow it to overbear. 

Your committee, therefore, take pleasure in submitting 
the foregoing facts, in refutation, in part, of the loose 



190 STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 

and reckless statements of Mi\ Yeatmax, and take this 
method of entering their protest against the same. 

(Signed), E. A. Thompson. 

John E. Mottier. 

The foregoing contains some vahiable facts, but it 
would seem to me that our Cincinnati friends have hardly 
estimated labor and expenses high enough. We cannot 
begin to cultivate 6ur vineyards at as low an estimate. 

The following is a rough estimate of the last season's 
crop around Hermann. It may be rather inaccurate, but 
it is about as near as I could come to the result. There 
are now, I suppose, something like 1,000 acres planted in 
grapes, of which about 400 may be in bearing. Unfor- 
tunately, nearly all the old vineyards are planted with the 
Oatawba, which was almost an entire failure this season, 
the average crop being only about 75 gallons to the acre. 
Most of the later planting has been done with the Con- 
cord and Norton's Virginia, but these vineyards are not 
bearing yet. Of the Norton's Virginia, the average crop 
the last season may have been about 600 gallons to the 
acre; of the Concord, 1,000 gallons per acre. The Her- 
bemont may have yielded about 800 gallons to the acre. 

Grapes marketed, mostly Concord, 20,000 

lbs. ; average price, 15c. per lb., - - $3,000 00 
Catawba wine made, about 25,000 gallons; 

average value, |1, 50 per gallon, - - 37,500 00' 
Norton's Virginia wine made, about 10,000 

gallons ; average value, $4: j^er gallon, - 40,000 00 
Concord wine made, about 5,000 gallons ; 

average value, $2.50 per gallon, - - 12,500 00 
Herbemont wine made, about 1,500 gallons; 

average value, $3 per gallon, - - - 4,500 00 
Other varieties made, about 1,000 gallons; 

average value, $3 per gallons, - - - 3,000* 00 
Gra^^e roots, cuttings, etc., grown and sold, 50,000 00 

$150,500 00 



STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 191 

I think the above is rather below the real amount; and 
the value of the crop may come up even as high as 
$200,000. 

Although grape culture is followed to a larger extent 
around Hermann than anywhere in the State, yet there 
are also a great many grapes grown and wine made 
around Boonville, in Cooper County; and Augusta, St. 
Charles County ; also, Hannibal, on the Mississippi river ; 
and St. Joseph, on the Missouri ; and there is hardly a 
county in the State now but has some flourishing vine- 
yards. 

The above facts may serve to give my readers a clearer 
insight into the cost and profits of grape-growing, and 
also the comparative varieties. In every case, the figures 
given can be relied on as actual facts. 

In our neighboring States, Illinois and Iowa, grape-grow- 
ing is progressing rapidly. There are already a number 
of vineyards established in the neighborhood of Alton, 
Belleville, Mascoutah, Warsaw, and Nauvoo, in Illinois ; 
and in the neighborhood of Burlington and Davenport, in 
Iowa. I am told that in the neighborhood of Makanda 
alone, in Jackson County, Illinois, at least 70,000 Adnes of 
the Concord will be planted the coming spring. 

Our sister State, Kansas, is also progressing bravely in 
the good work; and I do not think that, although our 
propagators throughout the country have done their best, 
there will be half the number of vines for sale that are 
wanted to meet the demand. 

But, while I am fully aware of the importance of grape- 
culture everywhere, I cannot help but believe that the south- 
west will take the preference in grape-growing over the 
eastern and northern States. AYe have the advantages of 
longer seasons and a warmer climate, generally of richer 
soil, of cheaper lands ; we can cultivate varieties Avhich 



192 STATISTICS OF GRAPE CULTURE. 

cannot be grown by our eastern brethren, and therefore 
all the chances are on our side. The mountainous regions 
of Tennessee, Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, and Alabama 
may, perhaps, rival and even surpass us in the future, but 
their inhabitants at present are not of the clay from 
which grape-growers are formed. They still cling to the 
demon of slavery, and their hatred of northern industrious 
freemen seems to be stronger than their love of prosperity. 
Let us hope that a better spirit may prevail, that they 
will in time begin to see their own interest, and welcome 
with open arms every one who can assist them in develop- 
ing the natural advantages of their lands. The grape can 
only flourish on free soil, and hj free intelligent labor. 




ifSY i 




A New, Practical and Original Work on 

RURAL. ARCHITECTURE, 

Elfiganf.li/ IJbistratp/l vnth 
12^ Designs and Plans of Honses of Moderate Cost, 

Including Stables and Out-Buildings, with a Chapter 

ON THE Construction of Balloon Frames. 

I*rice, Si 50 n:iailed. tree to any A-ddress. 

This -work contains between its covers. more practical information 
than can in many cases be sifted out of thousands of folios. The 
Messrs. Woodward are architects of note, and their work we warmly 
commend to our readers. — Hhaca, N. Y., Journal. 

Contains a large number of very chaste and beautiful designs for 
snug, comfortable homes. The chapter, on what is termed Balloon 
Framing, with the clear diagrams, is worth alone to country builders, 
the whole cost of the book. 

We have long known thf se gentlemen as architects, and we regard 
them as among the most reliable and skilful men in the profession. 
Their new work on " Country Homes," ought to be in the hands of 
every man that builds or contemplates building a home. — Scientific 
American. 

GEO, E. & F. W. WOODWARD, 

PUBLISHERS, 

37 Park Row, N. Y. 



AoaictiiTuaAi fKtut. 

Files of the following papers can always be found in this office, 
and subscriptions received for them. It comprises, so far as we 
know, all the Agricultural and Horticultural periodicals in the 
country. 

MONTHLY. 

The Horticulturist — New York City, $2.50 

The Gardener's Monthly — Philadelphia, 2.00 

Hovey's Magazine of Horticulture — Boston, 2.00 

American Agriculturist — New York, 1.50 

Maryland Farmer and Mechanic — Baltimore 1.50 

Working Farmer — New York, '. . . 1.00 

Wisconsin Farmer — Madison, Wis., 1.50 

The Farmer (new) Richmond, Va., 3.00 

Sorgho Journal — Cincinnati, Ohio, 1.50 

Southern Cultivator — Athens, Georgia, . . . . , 2.00 

Kansas Farmer — LawTence, 1 .50 

wil:ekjl.y. 

Cultivator and Country Gentleman — Albany, 2.50 

Prairie Farmer — Chicago, 2.00 

Ohio Farmf.r — Cleveland, -. 2.50 

Rural New Yorker — Rochester, 3.00 

New England Farmer — Boston, 2.50 

Boston Cultivator — " 3.00 

Maine Farmer — Augusta, 2.50 

California Farmer^— San Francisco. 5.00 

Iowa Homestead — Des Moines, , 2.50 

Western Rural — Detroit, 3.00 

Germantown Telegraph — Germantown, Pa., 2.50 

SEMI- MONTHLY. 

Coleman's Rural World — St. Louis, 2.00 

Miner's Rural American — Clinton, N. Y., 1,50 

In addition to the above, we receive subscriptions to 

Harper's Monthly Magazine , ^4.00 

" Weekly, 4.00 

The Atlantic, 4.00 

Our Young Folks, 2.00 

And all other papers and periodicals published. 

^^E^ Select your papers, remit us the amount by postal or- 
der, and the business will be transacted promptly. 

GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD, 

37 Park Row^ New Ym-k. 
9 



ESTABLISHED IN 1846. 




AND 

Journal of Eural Art and Eural Taste, 

DEVOTED TO THE 
AND 

To Culture under Class, Landscape hardening, Rural irchitec- 

Inre, and the Embellishment and Improvement of 

Country, Suburban and City Homes. 

Published Monthly, and forming a handsomely Illustrated Annual 
Volume of 400 royal octavo pages, by the best practical talent in 
the country. 

TERMS: 

Two Dollars and Fifty Cents a Year— Twenty-five Cents a Number. 

GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD, 

FXJBIL.ISIIERS, 

37 Park Ro^v, New York. 

New and Revised Editions just published by Geo. E. k F.W.Woodward, 37 Park Row, N. Y . 

THE HOUSE. 

A New Manual of Rural Architecture ; or, How to Build Dwellings, Barns, 
Stables and Out- Buildings of all kinds ; with a chapter on Churches and School- 
Houses. Cloth, $1.50. 

THE GARDEN. 

A New Manual of Practical Horticulture ; or, How to Cultivate Vepretables, 
Fruits and Flowers; with a chapter on OrDamental Trees and Shrubs. Cloth, $1.00. 

THE FARM. 

A New Manual of Practical Agriculture ; or, How to Cultivate all the Field 
Crops; with an Essay on Farm Management, etc. Cloth, $1.00. 

THE BARN-YARD. 

A New Manual of Cattle, Horse and Sheep Husbandry ; or, How to Breed and 
Rear the various species of Domestic Animals, Cloth, $1.00. 

Either of the above sent, post-paid, on receipt of price. 

3 



Agricultural, Horticwitural and Arcliitectnral 

BOOKS, 

P'or Scile at Publishers' IPrices ixt tlxe Oflace of the 
Horticulturist, or mailed., post paid.. 

Orders executed for Becks, Papers and Periodicals on any subject. 



Crrape Culture # 

Chorlton on Grape Culture under Glass $ 75 

Fuller's Grajje Culturist 1 50 

Ilara^thy Grape Culture, Wine and Wine Making 5 00 

Phin on Grape Culture 1 50 

llecmelin's Viije Dresser's Manual 75 

Fruit Culture. 

Barry's Fruit Garden $ 1 75 

Bridgeman's Fruit Cultivators' Manual 75 

Cole's Ameiicaii Fruit Book 75 

Downing's Fruits and Fruit Trees of America 3 00 

Eastwood on Cranberry 75 

Elliot's Western Fruit Grower's Guide 1 50 

Field's Pear Culture 1 25 

Fuller on Strawberry 20 

Hovey's Fruits of America, colored plates, 2 vols 35 00 

Pardee on Strawberry 75 

Flo-wers. 

Breck's Book of Flowers $ 1 50 

Briilgeuian's Florists' Guide 75 

Buist's Flower Garden Directory 1 50 

Ladies' Flower Garden Companion, edited by Downii.g 2 00 

Parli'r Gardener ". 1 00 

Rand's Flowers for Parlor and Garden 3 00 

Skeletiiri Leaves and Phantom Boquets 2 00 

Wax Flowers, and how to make them 2 00 

Trees, &c. 

Browne's Trees of America $ C 00 

Warder's Hedges and Evergreens 1 5o 

Rural Architecture. 

Allen's Rural Architecture $ 1 50 

Cleveland's Villas and Cottages 3 00 

Cummings' Designs for Street Frtmts, Suburban House.s and Cottages, with 

full exterior and interior details, 382 designs aud 714 illustrations 10 00 

Downing's Cottage Architecture 2 50 

Downing's Country Houses _ G 00 

Hatfield's American House Carpenter 3 50 

Holly's Country Seats 4 50 

Leuchar's How to Build and Ventilate Hot-houses 1 50 

Manual of the House, 126 designs and Plans ciotli 1 50 

Silloway's Modern Carpentry 2 00 

Sloan's Homestead Architecture, 200 Engravings 4 00 

Sloan's Ornamental Houses. 26 Colored Engrav'ings 3 00 

Vaux's Villas and Cottages, nearly 400 Engravings 3 00 

Woodward's Country Homes 1 50 

Woodward's Grapei-ies and Horticultural Buildings 1 50 

4 



AgriciUtnral^ Horticultural and Architectural Rookn. 



Landscape Gardening^. 

Downins's Landscape Gardening sj G /iO 

Kern's Landscape Gardening 2 00 

Kemp's " " 2 00 

Kural Essays by Downing 3 oo 

Smith's Landscarie Gardening 1 (i<) 

Gardeuiujs^, Horticulture, Agriculture, &>c. 

Allen's American Farm Book $ 1 50 

Allen's Domestic Animals 1 00 

American Rose Culturist 30 

American Bird Fancier 30 

Art of Saw-Filing y/i 

Bement's Rabbit Fancier 30 

Bement's American Poulterer's Companion 2 00 

Boursingault's Rural Economy 1 60 

Boston Machin ist, ( W. Fitzgerald) lb 

Brandt's Age of Horses, (English or German) .OO 

Bridgeman's Kitelien Gardeners' Instructor 75 

Bridgeman's Young Gardeners' Assistant 2 00 

Brown's Field Book of Manures 1 50 • 

Buist's Family Kitchen Gardener 1 00 

Burr's Field and Garden Vegetables of America 5 00 

Canary Birds, Manual for Birdkeepers 50 

Carpenters' and Joiners' Handbook 75 

Cobbett's American Gardener 75 

Cole's Veterinarian 75 

Coleman's Agriculture 4 00 

Darlington's American Weeds and Useful Plants 1 75 

Dana's Muck Manual 1 50 

Dana's Essays on Manures 30 

Dadd's Anatomy and Physiology of the Horse Plain 3 50 

Dadd's Horse Doctor 1 50 

Dadd'p Cattle Doctor 1 50 

DaTies Preparation and Mounting of Microscopic Object.-; 1 50 

Farmers' Every Day Book, octavo, 650 pages 3 00 

Flint on Grasses and Forage Plants 2 50 

Flint on Milch Cows 2 50 

Flora's Interpreter and Fortuna Flora, (Mrs. Hale) 1 50 

French's Farm Drainage I 50 

Garlick's Treatise on Propagation of Fish 1 25 

Gray's Manual of Botany 4 50 

Guenon's Treatise on Milch Cows 75 

Harris'— Insects injurious to Vegetation Plain Plates 4 00 

" '♦ " " Colored " 5 00 

Harris' Rnral Annual for 1866 25 

Herbert's Hints to Horsekeepers 1 75 

HoojDer's Dog and Gun 30 

How to Get a Farm, and Where to Find it 1 75 

How to Write, Talk, Behave and do Business 2 25 

Ik Marvel's Farm of Edgewood 2 00 

Insect Enemies of Fruit Trees, (Trimble) 8 00 

Jennings on Cattle 2 00 

Jennings on Swine and Poultry 2 00 

Jennings on the Horse and his Diseases 2 00 

John'^ton's Elements of Agricultural Chemistry 1 25 

Johnston's Agricultural Chemistry 1 75 

Klippart's Farm Drainage 1 50 

Klippart's Wheat Plant I 50 

Langstroth on th^ Honey Bee 2 00 

liiebig's Natural Laws of Husbandry I 50 

Liebig's Familiar Letters on Chemistry 50 

L nsley's Morgan Horses- " 1 50 

5 



Agdcultural^ Horticultural and Architectural Books. 



Manual of Agriculture, Emerson & Flint $ 1 50 

of Flax Culture 50 

of Hop Culture 40 

of the Farm cloth 1 00 

of the Garden " 1 00 

of Domestic Animals •« 1 00 

Mayhew's illustrated Horse Doctor 3 50 

Mayhew's " Horse Management 3 50 

Mayhew's Practical Book-Keeping for Farmers 90 

Blanks for do do 120 

McMahon's American Gardener 3 00 

Miles oil Horses Foot 30 

Miss Hall, Cookery and Domestic Economy 1 50 

Miss Beecher's Domestic Receipt Book 1 50 

Misp Beecher's Domestic Economy 1 50 

Morrell's American Shepherd 1 60 

Munn's Practical Land Drainer 76 

New Clock and Watch Maker's Manual 2 00 

Not ton's Scientific Agriculture 75 

Onion Culture 25 

Orchard House Culture, by C. M. Hovey 1 25 

Our Farm of Four Acres, paper, 30 cents ; bound 60 

Our Farm <>f Two Acres 20 

Quinby's Mystery of Bee-keeping 1 75 

Portfolio Paper File, (^Country Gentleman) $1 and 1 50 

Pedder's Land Measurer, for Farmers 60 

Phenomena of Plant Life, (Geo. H. Grindon) 1 00 

Randall's Fine Wool Sheep Husbandry 1 00 

Randall's Sheep Husbandry 1 50 

Ready Reckoner 50 

Richardson, On Dogs 30 

Rivers' Orchard House 50 

Schenck's Gardeners' Text-Book 75 

Shepherds' Own Book 2 25 

Skillful Housewife 75 

Stewart's Stable-Book 1 50 

Saunders' Domestic Poultry paper 30c. cloth 60 

Sparrowgi-ass Papers 2 Oil 

Ten Acres Enough 1 50 

Tenny's Natural History and Zoology 3 00 

Thompson's Food of Animals 1 00 

Tobacco Culture '. 2ft 

Todd's Young Farmer's Manual 1 50 

The Great West 1 00 

Tucker's Annual Register of Rural Affairs, Nos. 1 to 12, each 30 

Tucker's Rural Affairs, Four Bound Vols., each containing three numbers 

of the Annual Register, printed on larger and finer paper, per vol.. . . 1 50 

Turner's Cotton Planter's Manual 1 50 

Waring's Elements of Agriculture 1 00 

Watson's American Home Garden 2 00 

Wet Days at Edgewood, by Ik Marrel 2 00 

Wetherell on the Manufacture of Vinegar 1 50 

Youatt on the Horse 1 50 

Youattonthe Dog 2 00 

Youatt and Martin, On Cattle 1 50 

" " On the Hog 100 

Youatt, On Sheep 1 00 

Youmans' Household Science t 2 25 

Youmans' New Chemistry 2 00 

Address, GEO. £. 4b F. AV. WOODWARD, 

Plblishkks, 37 Park Row, New York. 

6 




•W^OOIDVvr^I^ ID'S 



AND 



HORTICULTURAL BUILDINGS, 

By GEO. E. k F. W. WOODWARD, Architects k Horticulturists. 

A new, practical and original Work on the Design and Con- 
struction of all classes of Horticultural Buildings, including 

Hotbeds, Propagating Houses, Hot and Cold Graperies, 
Orchard Houses, Conservatories, &c., 

With the best modes of Heating, &c. 

Being the result of an extensive professional practice. 
Price $1 50, Mailed Free to any Address* 

This neatly printed and finely illustrated work upon Ilbrticultural Buildings s^ves 
full information upon the position and form of houses, manner of construction, 
heating-, <kc. Its plain directions for the erection and manajfenient of these structures, 
will command for it a wide sale, and bein? the result of the practical experience of 
well-known architects, its value as a hand-book to guide the novice will be highly 
respected.— Afajwe Farmer, 

GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD, 

PUBLISHERS, 

37 Park Row, N. Y. 



th:e: 



DELAWARE GRAPE. 




A MAGNIFICENTLY COLORED PLATE, 

ON HEAVY KOYAL PAPER, FULL SIZE, 

Being the finest thing of the kind ever Published In this Country. 

Price per copy, mailed free, securely packed, Tliree Dollars. 

GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD, 

PUBLISEERS, 

37 Park Row, New York. 

8 



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